ObjectiveThe Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is one of the most popular scales for evaluating the severity of depression in adolescents as well as adults. The prevalence of depression increases during adolescence, and it has shown a rapid increase with occurrence at an earlier age and a tendency to continue into adulthood. Data from an adolescent nonclinical sample provides us more information related to depressive symptoms as potential risk factors. The current study was designed to two objectives: 1) to analyze the reliability and validity the BDI-II among Korean adolescents and 2) to evaluate the factorial structure in a Korean nonclinical adolescent sample.MethodsThe participants included 1072 adolescent boys and girls. We assessed the internal consistency, corrected item-total correlation, and the convergent validity of the BDI-II. We also performed confirmatory factor analyses to determine the internal structure of the BDI-II for Korean adolescents using Mplus 6.1.ResultsThe Cronbach's alpha for the BDI-II total score was 0.89. The correlation between the BDI-II and the PHQ-9 was strong (r=0.75), and anxiety-related measures were 0.68 and 0.71, which were also in the high range. Among the five different factor structures, the modified three-factor model demonstrated the best overall fit.ConclusionThe BDI-II is a reliable tool for measuring the severity of depressive symptoms in Korean adolescents. Therefore, the findings can provide basic information for examining the prevalence rate, intervention strategies for depression in adolescents.

Background We aimed to develop a questionnaire suitable for the assessment of trait domains in the forthcoming International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD‐11). This questionnaire, the Personality Assessment Questionnaire for ICD‐11 (PAQ‐11) personality trait domains, was intended as a short and reliable self‐report measure. Method The initial items were derived from the relevant traits of an established version of the Personality Assessment Schedule. In Phase 1, item selection and scale construction proceeded iteratively using data from 334 female university students and 75 psychiatric patients (combined N = 409) in Korea. In Phase 2, a validation study of the scale was conducted in a subset of the sample from Phase 1, who were deemed to be at high risk of personality disorders (N = 210). Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the Personality Assessment Schedule items created a 17‐item scale. This scale, PAQ‐11, demonstrated adequate convergent and discriminant validity with the five‐factor model, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition traits model and emotional difficulties. The results were consistent with its underlying theoretical structure. Conclusions The PAQ‐11 appears to be potentially promising in terms of clinical utility to assess the five domains of ICD‐11 personality disorders. More research must be conducted in other cultural backgrounds with gender‐balanced populations. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This preliminary field trial examines the reliability and validity of a proposed research algorithm for diagnosing International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11 personality disorders and its association with other psychiatric assessments for the primary classification of a single dimension of the five severity levels of personality dysfunction. In total, 137 psychiatric patients (119 with personality disorders and 18 without personality disorders) in Korea were assessed. In the first part of the study, inter-rater reliability was evaluated with an independent assessment of personality (personality assessment schedule). In the second part of the study, (1) the algorithm that identified any personality disturbance was compared with the ICD-10 and DSM-IV personality disorder diagnostic equivalents, and (ii) the four levels of severity were examined for their associations with clinical pathology and social functioning. The results showed good agreement between the algorithm and the test instruments for identifying a personality disorder. A graded increase in clinical pathology and social dysfunction was observed with increasing severity of personality disorder. These findings suggest that a simple algorithm for recording severity of a personality disturbance had both construct validity and was useful in practice, which supports severity classification as a valuable concept. These findings need to be confirmed in other cultures and ethnic groups.

ObjectivesZZThe Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a 20-item scale for measuring the extent of negative attitudes about the future. Previous studies repeatedly demonstrated clinical utility of BHS, particularly for predicting suicide. The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (K-BHS), which is commonly used for measuring hopelessness.MethodsZZThe study sample consisted of 1022 community-dwelling general adults from 4 regional areas (i.e., Seoul, Gyeonggi, Cheongju, and Jinju) across South Korea. They completed the K-BHS, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale.ResultsZZThe Cronbach's alpha value for the K-BHS was 0.85. Test-retest reliability at average 7.2 days was 0.86. Discriminant validity was determined. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three factor model.ConclusionZZThe K-BHS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity and therefore may be useful in measuring the construct of hopelessness and in clinical suicide risk assessments. Further studies are needed in order to explore the psychometric features and correlates of this scale among clinical populations.

No abstract