Psychometric Analysis and Factor Structure of the Spanish Version of the Eight-Item Patient Health Questionnaire in a General Sample of Puerto Rican Adults

Depressive disorders may cause significant impairment in social, occupational, and academic areas of functioning. This research aims to analyze the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Spanish version of the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) in a sample of 494 Puerto Rican adults. We analyzed the Cronbach alpha internal consistency, construct validity, discriminant validity, and factor structure of the instrument. The findings of the study revealed that the PHQ-8 obtained an excellent internal consistency of .92. Pearson’s r correlation analysis showed a high and statistically significant association between PHQ-8 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) providing evidence of concurrent validity. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses to examine the factor structure of the PHQ-8. The two models (unidimensional and multidimensional) showed an adequate adjustment to the data, but the unidimensional model was recommended. The PHQ-8 is a plausible adaptation of the PHQ-9 that may be used in any study directed to explore depressive symptoms without considering suicidal thoughts.