Standardization of Czech version of beck depression inventory (BDI II)

Introduction Depression is now the fourth most common cause of invalidity. World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2020 it will be the second most common cause (WHO, 2001). Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II) is highly reliable tool for measuring the intensity of depression. Methods The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Czech version of BDI II. This was done on a representative sample of working population. Results Results from 1027 participants were obtained. The sample was equally distributed among males and females. T-test showed that on average women suffered from higher depressive symptoms than males. Cronbach alpha showed high items consistency of 0,92 and confirmatory factor analysis found, as predicted, 3 factors: cognitive, somatic and affective. Conclusion Cronbach alpha and factor analysis showed high internal consistency and reliability of Czech version of BDI II. Czech version of BDI II is thus not only a translation but can be considered a psychometric tool that is comparable with the original version. The results of this study are therefore comparable with other available results.