Development and psychometric properties of a novel depression measure

Abstract

The Filgueiras Depression Inventory is proposed as a new instrument, created specifi cally for the Brazilian culture, for screening of Major Depressive Episodes according to the categories of the DSM-V. Two studies were conducted for this purpose. Study's 1 sample consisted of 326 undergraduate psychology students. Single words or expressions were asked to represent overall depressive symptoms. The most cited formed the fi rst version of the Filgueiras Depression Inventory. Study 2 reported the psychometric properties of this new scale. The sample consisted of 471 volunteers recruited on the Internet and 238 volunteers undergraduate students. Factor analyses, convergent and discriminant validity and other Classical Test Theory indices revealed results consistent to expectations in the present study. Andrich's Rating Scale Modeling was used as an Item Response Theory method of analysis. The overall psychometric properties of the Filgueiras Depression Inventory were shown to be good, and this study supports the effectiveness of this scale as a new instrument that measures depressive episodes in the Brazil.

Factors linked to changes in mental health outcomes among Brazilians in quarantine due to COVID-19

“…This was an increase from 6.9% at time 1. Similar trends were seen for 321 depression (4.2% at time 1, 8.0% at time 2; versus a norm of 4.1%) (Filgueiras et al, 2014) and 322 state anxiety (8.7% increasing to 14.9%; versus a norm of 9.4%) (Pasquali, Pinelli Jr & 323 Solha,1994). This is similar to anxiety levels observed in a large sample during quarantine in 324…”

“…The population mean is 17.0 (SD = 5.02) with a score over 27 indicating excessive stress ( Cacciari, Haddad, Dalmas, 2016 ). The FDI (Filgueiras et al, 2014) is a 20-item scale that asks individuals to grade the level of association between the respondent’s own self-perception and one-word items extracted from depression symptoms listed in the DSM-V in the last fortnight. It is rated in a six-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 “not related to me at all” to 5 “totally related to me” (scores range from 0-100).…”

“…It is rated in a six-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 “not related to me at all” to 5 “totally related to me” (scores range from 0-100). The reference mean is 53.3 (SD = 17.3) with 88 or higher indicating a cut-off for depressive symptomology (Filgueiras et al, 2014) . The S-STAI (Spielberg, Gorsuch & Lushene, 1970) is a subscale of a broader questionnaire that assess state (one’s current mood state) and trait (dispositional and personality-related traits) anxiety.…”

“…A repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to compare within and between groups for each demographic independent variable. Furthermore, prevalence of stress, depression and anxiety-like symptoms were calculated in percentage of participants above the means and cut-off points respective to the norms developed in previous studies in the Brazilian sample ( Cacciari, Haddad & Dalmas, 2016; Filgueiras et al, 2014; Pasquali, Pinelli Jr & Solha,1994 ).…”

“…The FDI (Filgueiras et al, 2014) is a 20-item scale that asks individuals to grade the level of 162 association between the respondent's own self-perception and one-word items extracted from 163 depression symptoms listed in the DSM-V in the last fortnight. It is rated in a six-point Likert-164 type scale ranging from 0 "not related to me at all" to 5 "totally related to me" (scores range 165 from 0-100 ranging from 1 "not at all" to 4 "very much so" (scores range from 0-80).…”