Data are presented on the translation, reliability, concurrent validity, and norms of the Spanish, Hebrew, and Chinese versions of three equivalent forms of the Depression Adjective Check Lists, and comparisons with the English version are made. Reliability estimates (split-half, alternate form, and internal consistency) for the four versions are quite similar in magnitude (.79 to .94). Concurrent validity was determined in each case by means of correlations with translated versions of a self-rating scale of depression, the Bradburn Scale, the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale, and the Katz Psychophysiologic-psychosomatic Symptom Scale. The English and Hebrew norms are based upon national probability sampling.
The study of depression has been hampered by the variety of theoretical positions and research methods (Levitt, Lubin, & Brooks, 1983). In the case of cross-cultural investigation of depression, the problems have been compounded by the use of different instruments in the various studies that are compared (Levitt et al., 1983).
Whether one is speaking of a "normal" mood phenomenon, a symptom, or a psychiatric syndrome, when mentioning depression, the common element seems to be dysphoric affect or feeling (Levitt et al., 1983). The Depression Adjective Check Lists (DACL; Lubin, 198 1) were developed to provide brief, self-administered measures of depressive affect in both state and trait forms. Alternate forms make the DACL useful in cases of repeated measurement with a relatively brief interval between testings.
In order to provide a measure of depressive affect that can be used in cross-cultural comparative studies, a program of translations of the DACL and determination of the reliability and validity of the translated versions has been undertaken. This paper presents comparative data on the reliability, validity, and norms of the Spanish, Hebrew, Chinese, and English DACL.