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Objective: To evaluate the validity and reliability of 16-item self-report version of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR16) scale in comparison with BDI-ll-Turkish (BDI-II-T) in a young sample of Turkish university students. Methods: A slightly modified version of the QIDS-SR16-Turkish (QIDS-SR16-T) available at www.ids-qids.org, along with the BDI-II-T, was administered to 628 young Turkish university students who attended the Family Health Center in Uludag University Campus between February and April 2010. Descriptive analyses, Student's t-test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and confirmatory factor analyses were used in the study. Results: The mean age of the participants was 21.1±2.16 (SD) years; 67.8% were female and 32.2% were male. Cronbach's α coefficient for internal consistency of the QIDS-SR16-T was found to be 0.769. The mean item-total correlation was 0.45, ranging from 0.29 to 0.71. The correlation between the BDI-II-T and QIDS-SR16-T was 0.72. ROC curve analysis suggested 9 as the optimal cut-off for a clinical depression level for the QIDS-SR16-T. Conclusion: We observed that the QIDS-SR16-T demonstrated good psychometric properties in a sample of young Turkish students and has convergent validity with the BDI-II-T, a widely used scale for depression. It is essential to diagnose reliably the major depressive disorder and to follow up the patients by valid screening instruments in primary care setting. The internal consistencies of the QIDS determined in studies from the United States were greater than our Cronbach's α coefficient, but there was no statistically significant difference between them (z=0.55, p>0.05). The QIDS-SR16-T can be reliably used in primary care settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]