Differential item functioning in a Spanish translation of the Beck Depression Inventory

Brief and culturally compatible measures of depression are necessary, yet most depression scales are translated without regard for cultural biases. In this study, 292 medical outpatients completed an English or a Spanish‐translated and back‐translated version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical psychology 2001-03, Vol.57 (3), p.355-365
Main Authors: Azocar, Francisca, Areán, Patricia, Miranda, Jeanne, Muñoz, Ricardo F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Cross cultural studies
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Female
Hispanic Americans - psychology
Humans
Language
Male
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Mental health
Middle Aged
Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data
Polls & surveys
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reproducibility of Results
Techniques and methods
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Summary:Brief and culturally compatible measures of depression are necessary, yet most depression scales are translated without regard for cultural biases. In this study, 292 medical outpatients completed an English or a Spanish‐translated and back‐translated version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The BDI items were analyzed for bias between Spanish and English‐speaking patients to determine the equivalence of the scale. A Differential Item Function (DIF) using a Mantel Haenszel Approach for Ordered Response Categories was used to analyze how likely subjects in the two ethnic groups were to endorse each response category. The results suggest that regardless of level of depression, Latinos are more likely to endorse items reflecting tearfulness and punishment, and less likely to endorse inability to work. Cultural interpretations and recommendations for use of the BDI are discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 355–365, 2001.
ISSN:0021-9762
1097-4679
DOI:10.1002/jclp.1017