Govorov S.A., Panteleeva O.I., Oleychik M.I., Shevchenko O.P. The Russian Version of the PHQ-9: A Pilot Assessment of Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure in a Clinical Sample
Stanislav A. Govorov, PhD student, Department of Medical Psychology, Clinical Psychologist, the Third Clinical Department, Mental Health Research Center, Moscow, Russia; bld. 34, Kashirskoye hwy., Moscow, Russia, 115522; stsgovorov@hotmail.com
Olga I. Panteleeva, Statistician, Independent Researcher, Graduate of the Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; bld. 1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, Russia, 119991; oipanteleeva@mail.ru
Mikhail I. Oleychik, Junior Researcher, Department of Medical Psychology, Junior Researcher, Department for Interdisciplinary Research, Clinical Psychologist, the Third Clinical Department, Mental Health Research Center, Moscow, Russia; bld. 34, Kashirskoye hwy., Moscow, Russia, 115522; mr.oleychik@mail.ru
Olga P. Shevchenko, Junior Researcher, Department of Endogenous Mental Disorders and Affective States Research, bld. 34, Kashirskoye hwy., Moscow, Russia, 115522; shevchenkolga@yandex.ru
The article presents the results of a study assessing the psychometric properties of the Russian-language version of the PHQ-9 questionnaire in a sample of Russian psychiatric inpatients with a diagnosed depressive syndrome (n = 84) (affective and schizotypal disorders).
The aim was to validate the tool for clinical use.
The study involved 84 patients from the Mental Health Research Center with a diagnosed depressive syndrome (F31, F32, F33, F21 according to ICD-10). Methods included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and assessment of discriminatory power.
The results demonstrated good internal reliability of the questionnaire (Cronbach's α = .81). High convergent validity with the Beck Depression Inventory was established (r = .77, p < .001). A cutoff score of ≥ 10 for screening for depressive syndrome showed a sensitivity of 73.8% and specificity of 81.0%; the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was .86, indicating high diagnostic accuracy. CFA revealed that a two-factor model fitted the data better than a one-factor model. Analysis of symptoms showed that concentration difficulties, anhedonia, and fatigue were the most common symptoms in the sample. The symptoms’ distribution was independent of the specific diagnostic group, highlighting that depressive syndrome is trans-nosological and demonstrating the utility of the PHQ-9 for assessing depression across various non-psychotic diagnostic groups.
It is concluded that the Russian-language version of the PHQ-9 is a reliable and valid tool for screening for depression in patients with non-psychotic disorders. A confirmed cutoff score of ≥ 10 should raise suspicion of a clinically significant depressive syndrome, necessitating a comprehensive evaluation to determine the severity of symptoms and the need for appropriate professional care.
Key words: PHQ-9, depressive syndrome, psychometric properties, factor structure, depression screening, affective disorders, schizotypal disorder, cutoff score
For citation: Govorov, S.A., Panteleeva, O.I., Oleychik, M.I., Shevchenko, O.P. (2026). The Russian Version of the PHQ-9: A Pilot Assessment of Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure in a Clinical Sample. New Psychological Research, No. 1, 189–202. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2026_06_01_10
Keywords: PHQ-9 depressive syndrome psychometric properties factor structure depression screening affective disorders schizotypal disorder cutoff score
Received: 27th march 2026
Published: 27th march 2026