Psychometric Properties and Depressive Symptomatology in School Samples from Spain and Morocco: A Preliminary Validation

Background: During adolescence, depression is a major concern due to its high prevalence and long-term impact on well-being. Effective intervention requires accurate assessment through culturally and linguistically adapted instruments with strong psychometric properties. Aims: This study aims to adapt and evaluate the metric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in the Moroccan context and to conduct a preliminary comparison of depressive symptomatology between the participating Spanish and Moroccan school samples, by gender and age. Method: A total of 1141 students (514 from Spain and 627 from Morocco), aged 14–19 years, completed the modified 19-item version of the BDI-II and the BASC-S3 questionnaires. Results: The Spanish and Moroccan modified 19-item versions of the BDI-II demonstrated adequate metric properties and gender- and age-invariance, both within and between countries. Intra-country comparisons revealed significant gender differences in both Spain and Morocco samples, with female adolescents reporting higher levels of depressive symptoms than their male counterparts. No differences were observed according to age. The cross-country comparison revealed a large difference in latent depression levels between the Spanish and Moroccan samples included in this study. Conclusions: This modified version of the BDI-II may provide a useful tool for assessing depressive symptoms in the Moroccan and Spanish school populations sampled in this study. The findings also highlight the importance of considering cultural and contextual factors when interpreting depressive symptomatology.