Reconstruction and Validation of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) assesses anaclitic (dependent) and introjective (self-critical) personality constructs linked to depression.
• Concerns exist regarding the DEQ's validity in accurately measuring these distinct characterological configurations.
• Previous research highlights the need for rigorous psychometric evaluation of widely used depression assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To formally assess the congruence of the DEQ with its theoretical two-factor (Dependency, Self-Criticism) and three-factor (Dependency, Self-Criticism, Efficacy) models using confirmatory factor analysis.
• To identify a subset of DEQ items that better fit the proposed theoretical structure.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, of a revised DEQ scale.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on DEQ responses from a large sample (N=404) of normal adults.
• Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) were utilized to identify optimal items for the two-factor model.
• Test-retest reliability and diagnostic group comparisons (normal vs. patient samples) were conducted.

Main Results:

• Neither the original two-factor nor three-factor models provided a good fit to the data.
• A revised 19-item scale (9 dependency, 10 self-critical) demonstrated an excellent fit to the two-factor model across normal, depressed outpatient, and student samples.
• The revised scales for Dependency and Self-Criticism showed excellent temporal stability and modest association between factors.
• Significant diagnostic variations in mean scores were observed between normal and patient groups.

Conclusions:

• The original DEQ structure requires revision for accurate assessment of dependency and self-criticism.
• A refined 19-item DEQ offers a psychometrically sound measure of these depression-related personality constructs.
• The revised scale exhibits good reliability and diagnostic utility, supporting its use in clinical and research settings.