Citation

Palmer GA, Happe MC, Paxson JM, Jurek BK, Graca JJ, Olson SA. Mil. Med. 2014; 179(8): 879-884.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, St. Cloud VA Health Care System, 4801 Veterans Drive, EC-117; St. Cloud, MN 56303.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00048

PMID

25102530

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is widely used as a screening instrument for depressive symptomatology in clinical settings. The factor structure has been researched in a variety of settings with results ranging from a single factor to a five-factor structure. The purpose of this study was to examine several identified factor structures when applied to a mixed polytrauma sample.

METHOD: A sample of 310 veterans was used for this study. All subjects were administered the BDI-II screening measure as part of an evaluation in an outpatient polytrauma clinic. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the best model.

RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a three-factor model provided a best fit. A model previously identified for individuals in residential treatment for substance abuse provided a best fit for this sample.

CONCLUSIONS: The BDI-II may provide additional information for clinicians when examining the three-factor model with veterans in polytrauma settings.

Language: en