The Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition: Psychometric Properties in Korean Adult Populations

Abstract

The present study evaluated the psychometric characteristics and the factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) among the general population in South Korea. The BDI-II was completed by a total of 1,022 adult participants from South Korea with an average age of 35.61 years. Of the 1,022 participants, 53.9% were females. The Korean version of the BDI-II demonstrated strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and had a strong correlation with other depression-related self-report measures. Using confirmatory factor analyses, a bifactor model identified a general factor and two specific factors consisting of somatic group factor and cognitive group factor provided the best fit to the data. These findings suggest that the BDI-II is a useful psychological instrument for assessing and understanding depressive symptoms in the Korean general population. Additionally, these findings provide support for a detailed evaluation of depression by numerous healthcare professionals who require a reliable and valid assessment to screen depression.