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In an attempt to discover factors that might explain the high misclassification rate of the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as a screening tool for depression in primary health care patients (primarily due to false positives), confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the dimensionality of the instrument with data from a sample of 598 family practice outpatients. A dual-factor specification provided a superior fit, with two moderately correlated factors (r =.722), identified and labeled Nonsomatic Symptoms and Somatic Symptoms. The items work inhibition and Fatigue loaded together on the Somatic Symptoms factor, whereas the anorexia item loaded on both factors, and it is hypothesized that these symptoms are elevated in otherwise nondepressed, medically ill patients
Volk et al. (Tue,) studied this question.