The Two-Week and Five-Week Dependability and Stability of the Depressive Personality Disorder Inventory and Its Association With Current Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

Within the psychometric framework of assessing a measure's dependability (Watson, 2004), this study considered the 2-week and 5-week test–retest correlations of the Depressive Personality Disorder Inventory (DPDI; Huprich, Margrett, Barthelemy, & Fine, 1996). DPDI scores were compared with the test–retest reliability (i.e., dependability) of the Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI–II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996). Three-hundred sixty-three undergraduates completed the DPDI and BDI–II and were reevaluated at either a 2- or 5-week interval. Two- and 5-week test–retest correlations for the DPDI were .89 and .82, respectively, and test–retest correlations for the BDI–II were .88 and .75. The effect sizes of the mean scores’ changes in the measures across time were larger for the DPDI (ds = .48, .23) than the BDI–II (ds = .28, –.21), with mean BDI–II scores not significantly differing at the 5-week assessment from the baseline mean. Although the 5-week retest correlation for the BDI–II trended toward decreasing reliability from baseline, it did not significantly differ from the DPDI 5-week retest correlation. It is concluded that both measures are dependable and assess latent propensities toward depressive thoughts and feelings, along with the current influence of depressive states.