Assessing reliability and validity of the Chi nese version of the Depression Change Exp ectancy Scale and its application in college students

Abstract Background With mental health issues getting worse, depression plays an essential role in the development of individuals. There are few measurements of depression change expectancy for college students. This study examines the applicability of the Depression Change Expectancy Scale for Adults to a sample of Chinese college students. It provides a measurement tool for depression change expectancy among Chinese college students. Methods According to the Brislin translation model, the first draft was translated and translated into the scale. The Chinese version of the scale was formed through expert localization debugging and pre-investigation. Using the convenience sampling method, 1138 students were surveyed in several medical schools in Anhui province from September to December 2023, and 481 students with depressive symptoms or tendencies were screened out for the reliability and validity analysis of the change in depression expectation scale. Results: The scale has a good single-factor structure (CMIN/DF = 2.604, CFI = 0.973, TLI = 0.970, GFI = 0.912, NFI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.058). The content validity (S-CVI) is 0.898, and each item's content validity (I-CVI) is 0.830 ~ 1.000. The coherence within The reliability analysis scale's Cronbach's coefficient is 0.910, and each dimension is 0.888–0.980. the test-retest reliability is 0.985, and each dimension's test-retest reliability is 0.982–0.985. Conclusion According to this study, the Chinese version of the DCES has excellent validity and reliability. It may be used as a tool for evaluation to determine how patients' depression is changing over time.