Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis of the korean version of hypomania checklist-32

The Hypomania Checklist - 32 (HCL-32) is a self-assessment instrument developed by Angst et al. (2005) to identify bipolarity in the general population, as well as patients with unipolar depression. The principal objective of this study was to assess the factor structure of the Korean version of the HCL-32 for mood disorder patients, via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The Korean version of HCL-32 were evaluated in a sample of 608 mood disorder patients, including 210 bipolar disorder patients and 398 unipolar disorder patients, all of whom were diagnosed in accordance with either the Structured Clinical Interview of DSM-IV or Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview They were divided randomly into two groups, and then the EFA was administered to group 1 and the CFA was administered to group 2.

A 3-factor structure for the HCL-32 was generated, which explained 44% of the total variance from EFA. Factor 1, comprising 18 items, was designated as 'elated mood/increased energy'; factor 2, comprising 8 items, was designated as 'risk-taking behavior/irritability'; and factor 3, comprising 2 items, was designated as 'increased sexual activity'. Researchers confirmed the 3-factor solution derived from group 1 by the CFA.

The primary findings of this study were the replication and confirmation of the 3-factor structure in Korean mood disorder patients; our results were consistent with previous EFAs.