Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jun 3;11(6):e0151030.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151030. eCollection 2016.

Adaptation and Latent Structure of the Swahili Version of Beck Depression Inventory-II in a Low Literacy Population in the Context of HIV

Amina Abubakar  1   2   3 , Raphael Birya Kalu  1 , Khamis Katana  1 , Beatrice Kabunda  1 , Amin S Hassan  1 , Charles R Newton  1   4   5   6   7 , Fons Van de Vijver  2   8   9
Affiliations

Adaptation and Latent Structure of the Swahili Version of Beck Depression Inventory-II in a Low Literacy Population in the Context of HIV

Amina Abubakar et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: We set out to adapt the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II in Kenya and examine its factorial structure.

Methods: In the first phase we carried out in-depth interviews involving 29 adult members of the community to elicit their understanding of depression and identify aspects of the BDI-II that required adaptation. In the second phase, a modified version of BDI-II was administered to 221 adults randomly selected from the community to allow for the evaluation of its psychometric properties. In the third phase of the study we evaluated the discriminative validity of BDI-11 by comparing a randomly chosen community sample (n = 29) with caregivers of adolescents affected by HIV (n = 77).

Results: A considerable overlap between the BDI symptoms and those generated in the interviews was observed. Relevant idioms and symptoms such as 'thinking too much' and 'Kuchoka moyo (having a tired heart)' were identified. The administration of the BDI had to be modified to make it suitable for the low literacy levels of our participants. Fit indices for several models (one factorial, two-factor model and a three factor model) were all within acceptable range. Evidence indicated that while multidimensional models could be fitted, the strong correlations between the factors implied that a single factor model may be the best suited solution (alpha [0.89], and a significant correlation with locally identified items [r = 0.51]) confirmed the good psychometric properties of the adapted BDI-II. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that somatization was more prevalent. Lastly, caregivers of HIV affected adolescents had significantly higher scores compared to adults randomly selected from the community F(1, 121) = 23.31, p < .001 indicating the discriminative validity of the adapted BDI = II.

Conclusions: With an adapted administration procedure, the BDI-II provides an adequate measure of depressive symptoms which can be used alongside other measures for proper diagnosis in a low literacy population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Confirmatory factor analysis (The unidimensional model).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Confirmatory factor analysis (Two factors solution).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Confirmatory factor analysis (Hierarchical factor solution).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tomlinson M, Swartz L, Kruger LM, Gureje O (2007) Manifestations of affective disturbance in sub-Saharan Africa: key themes. J Affect Disord 102: 191–198. 10.1016/j.jad.2006.09.029 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Patel V (2007) Mental health in low- and middle-income countries. Br Med Bull 81–82: 81–96. 10.1093/bmb/ldm010 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bolton P, Wilk CM, Ndogoni L (2004) Assessment of depression prevalence in rural Uganda using symptom and function criteria. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39: 442–447. 10.1007/s00127-004-0763-3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Steer RA, Brown GK (1996) BDI–II, Beck Depression Inventory: Manual (2nd ed.). Boston: Harcourt Brace.
    1. van Hemert DA, van de Vijver FJR, Poortinga YH (2002) The Beck Depression Inventory as a Measure of Subjective Well-Being: A Cross-National Study. J Happiness Stud 3: 257–286 10.1023/A:1020601806080 - DOI

Publication types