Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale

Sunggeun Kim; Eun-Ho Lee; Soon-Taeg Hwang; Sang-Hwang Hong; Kounseok Lee; Ji-Hae Kim

doi:10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.1.84

Journal List > J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc > v.54(1) > 1017785

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Kim, Lee, Hwang, Hong, Lee, and Kim: Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale

Original Article

Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 2015; 54(1): 84-90.

Published online: 28 February 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2015.54.1.84

Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale

Sunggeun Kim, MA¹, Eun-Ho Lee, MA², Soon-Taeg Hwang, PhD³, Sang-Hwang Hong, PhD⁴, Kounseok Lee, MD¹, Ji-Hae Kim, PhD¹

¹Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

²Depression Center, Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

³Department of Psychology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.

⁴Department of Education, Chinju National University of Education, Jinju, Korea.

Address for correspondence: Ji-Hae Kim, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 138-736, Korea. Tel +82-2-3410-0931, Fax +82-2-3410-0050, jihae0931.kim@samsung.com

Received 7 January 2015 Revised 15 January 2015 Accepted 23 January 2015

Abstract

Objectives

The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a 20-item scale for measuring the extent of negative attitudes about the future. Previous studies repeatedly demonstrated clinical utility of BHS, particularly for predicting suicide. The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (K-BHS), which is commonly used for measuring hopelessness.

Methods

The study sample consisted of 1022 community-dwelling general adults from 4 regional areas (i.e., Seoul, Gyeonggi, Cheongju, and Jinju) across South Korea. They completed the K-BHS, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale.

Results

The Cronbach's alpha value for the K-BHS was 0.85. Test-retest reliability at average 7.2 days was 0.86. Discriminant validity was determined. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three factor model.

Conclusion

The K-BHS demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity and therefore may be useful in measuring the construct of hopelessness and in clinical suicide risk assessments. Further studies are needed in order to explore the psychometric features and correlates of this scale among clinical populations.

Keywords: Beck Hopelessness Scale, K-BHS, Suicide, Hopelessness, Depression

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Demographic characteristics of the study sample

Table 2

Means, standard deviations, and Pearson correlations between K-BHS and other self-report questionnaires

ADHD : Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, K-ASRS : Korean version of Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, K-BHS : Korean version of Beck Hopelessness Scale, PHQ-9 : Patient Health Questionnaire-9, STAI-S : Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State, STAI-T : Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait

Table 3

Item composition of factor analysis models

Table 4

Fit indices of the tested alternative factor models

CFI : Comparative fit index, TLI : Tucker-Lewis index, RMSEA : Root mean square error of approximation

Notes

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest

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