Previous factor studies of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) have not analyzed the item data as a function of sex, or reported more than one factor solution. To further study the factor structure of the BDI, items were factor analyzed and multiple solutions were examined for simple structure, parsimony, and psychological meaningfulness. A sample of 164 female college students who participated in a series of studies dealing with depression, sentence comprehension, and memory completed the BDI. A secondary series of analyses were computed for the higher scoring (more depressed) students. As expected, the first analysis yielded one general factor indicating, primarily, the depth of depression. However, four factors were interpreted in the secondary analysis with more depressed students. The composition of the resultant factors (guilty depression with sadness, pessimistic outlook and sense of failure, social withdrawal, and health concern) was not similar to those observed in previous studies which showed the factors guilt, depression, retardation, and self-deprecation. Compared to other samples with a mixed population, the incidence of depressive symptoms was higher in the present sample. Male BDI data, when similarily analyzed and compared to the female findings, will provide a better idea about the relation of sex to the factor structure of the BDI with college student populations. (JAC)