Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Reconstructed Depressive Experiences Questionnaire.

Abstract

The Reconstructed Depressive Experiences Questionnaire-RDEQ is a self-report measure for assessing depressive experiences and in particular dependency and self-criticism, that is, vulnerability traits for depression. It constitutes a short version of the widely used DEQ that was constructed to detect the anaclitic and the introjective depressive characterological configurations. However, DEQ's validity has been questioned and several shortened versions have been constructed. RDEQ has been found to preserve the characteristics of the original scale and demonstrate the best psychometric qualities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Greek version. RDEQ was translated and the final version was administered, along with questionnaires measuring depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), attachment (Cartes de Modèles Individuels de Relations, CAMIR), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, RSES), to a clinical and a community sample of 714 individuals. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a two-factors structure that represents the personality dimensions of dependency and self-criticism. Findings showed that this model fits well the data and has good internal consistency with Cronbach's alphas 0.84 and 0.87, respectively. The correlation between the two RDEQ factors demonstrated that the two scales are orthogonal and distinct. Moreover, the Greek version exhibited low to moderate significant correlations with BDI, CAMIR, and RSES and satisfactory convergent and divergent validity. RDEQ appears to be a suitable tool for research use and is expected to facilitate the examination of depressive personality dimensions in Greek speaking populations.