2026 ECNP Congress

PS04-4134

Extended psychometric evaluation of the Turkish form of the Beck Hopelessness Scale—short version in adolescents and young adults

Kubra Ugur Topcu — A.T. Bahadir, E. Nazli Aydinlik, E. Akdeniz, S. Yildiz, F.M. Bagci Gulmus, K. Erdem, H. Colak, E. Kaya, Z.R. Ustuner, M. Bayazan, M.Y. Yazgan · Marmara University School of Medicine, Medical Student, Istanbul, Türkiye

2026 ECNP Congress

Objectives

Perczel Forintos et al. (2013) developed a short version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) for screening purposes aimed at the prevention of suicidal behaviour [1]. The scale was developed as a brief measure of hopelessness. Hopelessness is closely associated with suicidal ideation and behaviour. Practical and reliable screening tools may therefore be clinically useful. The psychometric properties of the short version of the BHS have not yet been evaluated in a Turkish sample. This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Turkish form of the short version of the BHS in adolescents and young adults.

Methods

The four-item short version of the BHS was translated into Turkish and back-translated into English. Expert opinions were obtained, and the final Turkish version was refined. A total of 915 participants were enrolled; analyses were conducted on 895 participants with complete data for the short version of the BHS, including adolescents (n = 383, mean age = 15.19, SD = 0.74) and young adults (n = 512, mean age = 22.84, SD = 2.21). Participants also completed the Short Depression–Happiness Scale (SDHS) [2] and the Helplessness, Hopelessness, and Haplessness Scale (HHHS) [3]. The short version of the BHS was re-administered approximately 4 weeks later to 334 participants, consisting of 176 adolescents (52.69%) and 158 young adults (47.31%), in order to evaluate test–retest reliability. The internal consistency of the short version of the BHS was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha [4], interpreted based on Cicchetti’s (1994) guidelines [5], and item-total correlations. Construct validity was assessed using principal component analysis. Test–retest reliability was assessed using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient.

Results

The internal consistency of the short version of the BHS was good, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.875 overall (0.861 in adolescents, 0.887 in young adults). Item–total correlations were high across age groups. Exploratory factor analysis indicated sampling adequacy (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin > 0.80), and Bartlett’s test of sphericity confirmed suitability for factor analysis (p < 0.001). Principal component analysis revealed a single-factor structure. The explained variance was 72.98% in the total sample, 70.85% in adolescents, and 74.86% in young adults. Item loadings were strong, ranging from 0.786 to 0.909. Test–retest reliability showed moderate positive correlations in the overall sample (ρ = 0.65, p < 0.001), as well as in adolescents (ρ = 0.70, p < 0.001) and young adults (ρ = 0.59, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The Turkish form of the short version of the BHS showed good reliability and a unidimensional structure in both adolescents and young adults. Test–retest analyses indicated moderate test–retest reliability. Although some differences were observed between the age groups, the psychometric findings were generally similar. The brevity of the scale may facilitate its use in both clinical practice and research settings.

References

  1. Perczel Forintos, D., Rózsa, S., Pilling, J., Kopp, M., 2013. Proposal for a short version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale based on a national representative survey in Hungary. Community Ment. Health J. 49, 822-830.
  2. Joseph, S., Linley, P.A., Harwood, J., Lewis, C.A., McCollam, P., 2004. Rapid assessment of well-being: The Short Depression-Happiness Scale (SDHS). Psychol. Psychother. 77 (4), 463-478.
  3. Lester, D., 2001. An inventory to measure helplessness, hopelessness, and haplessness. Psychol. Rep. 89(3), 495-498.
  4. Cronbach, L.J., 1951. Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16 (3), 297-334.
  5. Cicchetti, D.V., 1994. Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments in psychology. Psychol. Assess. 6 (4), 284.