Avoidance and activation as keys to depression: adaptation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale in a Spanish sample

In this paper we present the adaptation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS), developed by Kanter, Mulick, Busch, Berlin, and Martell (2007), in a Spanish sample. The psychometric properties were tested in a sample of 263 participants (124 clinical and 139 non-clinical). The results show that, just as in the original English version, the Spanish BADS is a valid and internally consistent scale. Construct validity was examined by correlation with the BDI-II, AAQ, ATQ, MCQ-30, STAI and EROS. Factor analysis justified the four-dimensions of the original instrument (Activation, Avoidance/Rumination, Work/School Impairment and Social Impairment), although with some differences in the factor loadings of the items. Further considerations about the usefulness of the BADS in the clinical treatment of depressed patients are also suggested.