The psychological properties of the Arabic BDI-II and the psychological state of the general Moroccan population during the mandatory quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The main objective of this work is to study the psychological impact (stress and depression) of the mandatory quarantine applied on the Moroccan population in order to limit the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), then the study of the psychometric properties of the Arab BDI-II in the general Moroccan population. 263 respondents were asked to respond to a BDI-II and PSS-10 socio-demographic questionnaire conducted during the first month of quarantine. 55.9% of the respondents were in a normal state of stress and 36.1% in a moderate state. However, 38.4% and 27.8% exhibited minimal and severe depression respectively. The results of factor analysis with the varimax rotation method revealed three factors predicting 55.56% of the total variance of BDI-II, while two factors predicting 60.97% of the total variance of PSS-10. Cronbach's alpha values for BDI and PSS-10 were α = 0.93 and α = 0.58 respectively. In conclusion, the BDI-II is a reliable and valid assessment for measuring symptoms of depression in the general Moroccan population and also very important to pay more attention to the side effects of mandatory quarantine.