Psychometric properties of the Slovenian version of the cardiac depression scale

The aim of this study was to translate the Cardiac Depression Scale into the Slovenian language and test its validity and reliability on Slovenian patients with heart disease. A total of 272 patients with heart disease who underwent elective coronary angiography at Celje General Hospital participated in this study. We used the Slovenian Cardiac Depression Scale (S-CDS), the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-20 (CES-D) to collect data. An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity were performed. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.92 and the test-retest reliability was 0.71. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed six factors, accounting for 61% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a two- and one-factor solution had acceptable goodness-of-fit measures. However, we kept a more parsimonious one-factor method, given a high correlation between the two factors and the theoretical background in previous studies. Concurrent validation against the CES-D and the STAI-S showed moderate to strong correlations. The S-CDS is a reliable and valid instrument for screening for depression in Slovenian patients with heart disease.