2077 – Preliminary Validation Study Of a Portuguese Version Of The Patient Health Questionnaire (phq-9)

Abstract

Introduction

Depression is one of the most common health issues impacting the university student population. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a short measure that has the potential to serve as a dual-purpose instrument that establishes depressive disorder diagnoses as well as grades the depressive symptom severity.

Objectives

The current study was designed to study the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the PHQ-9 in a sample of university students.

Aims

Specifically, we examined the internal reability and convergent validity of the measure.

Methods

The English language of the PHQ-9 was translated into Portuguese. The process involved back-translation, crosscultural adaptation, field testing of the pre-final version, as well as final adjustments. A sample of university students completed the PHQ-9, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results

Complete data were obtained from 1241 participants. The mean age of the participants was 23.81 years (SD = 4.87) and 75.3% of them were females. The mean PHQ-9 score was 4.15 (SD = 4.05). The Portuguese version of the PHQ-9 had satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86) and showed moderate convergent validity with the HADS anxiety (r = 0.61; p < 0.01) and HADS depression (r = 0.59; p < 0.01), and strong convergent validity with the BDI (r = 0.85; p < 0.01).

Conclusions

The PHQ-9 has good psychometric properties amongst Portuguese university students. Implications for using the measure as an assessment instrument in the university setting are discussed.