TY - JOUR
PY - 2016//
TI - Standardization of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in the general population
JO - Journal of mental health
A1 - Kocalevent, Ruya-Daniela
A1 - Finck, Carolyn
A1 - Perez-Trujillo, Monica
A1 - Sautier, Leon
A1 - Zill, Jördis
A1 - Hinz, Andreas
SP - 1
EP - 7
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - BACKGROUND: The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a self-report instrument for the quantification of hopelessness in nonpsychiatric, as well as psychiatric patients. Hopelessness is a key psychological variable in suicide prediction. Until now the psychometric properties of the instrument have not been studied in a representative sample of the general population. AIMS: The objectives of the study were to generate normative data and to further investigate the construct validity and factorial structure of the BHS.
METHODS: A nationally representative face-to-face household survey was conducted in Colombia in 2012 (N = 1500).
RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the BHS was 0.81. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model, achieving good fit indices (total sample: RMSEA = 0.043, CFI = 0.936, TLI = 0.921). Normative data for the BHS were generated for both genders and different age levels. Intercorrelations with hopelessness were highest for depression (r = 0.57), followed by anxiety (r = 0.52).
CONCLUSIONS: The normative data provide a framework for the interpretation and comparisons of the BHS with other populations. Evidence supports reliability and validity of the three-factor BHS as a measure of hopelessness in the general population.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0963-8237 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2016.1244717 ID - ref1 ER -