[Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ): Spanish translation and psychometric properties]

The objective of this study was to translate into Spanish and to determine the inner reliability and consistency of the Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ) in a sample of Mexican patients diagnosed of schizophrenia and/or schizoaffective disorder under the DSM-IV criteria.

In order to do this, a diagnosis confirmation based on the semistructured interview format SCID was applied. The Spanish version of the BAVQ and Beck's anxiety and depression inventories were also implemented with a total of 55 persons, including males and females between 18 and 65 years old consecutively referred by the Mental Health Care Centers belonging to Mental Health Institute of Jalisco which forms a part of the governmental Health Care System in Mexico.

The inner consistency indicators from the Spanish version ranged from 0.74 to 0.88, similar to those reported in the original version reviewed. The total score in the Malevolence and Resistance subscales were positively correlated and were statistically significant with depressive symptoms evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (r = 0.29, p = 0.04; r = .35, p = 0.01, respectively), as well as the "omnipotence" subscale with the presence of anxiety symptoms according to the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (r = 0.35; p = 0.01). The factorial structure was similar to that reported for the original version of the instrument reviewed.

The Spanish version of the BAVQ is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate beliefs about identity, power, purpose, and consequences of obeying auditory hallucinations or "voices" in the Spanish speaking population.