Beck Depression Inventory

Beck Depression test


Beck Depression Inventory (often abbreviated as BDI) (see remarks 1,2) is a depression test to measure the severity and depth of depression symptoms as listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; 1994) in patients with clinical depression.



Beck's Depression Inventory can be used for both adults and adolescents 13 years of age and older. Beck Depression Test is a standard measure of depression used mainly in research and for the evaluation of effectiveness of depression therapies and treatments.

It is not meant to serve as an instrument of diagnosis, but rather to identify the presence and severity of symptoms consistent with the criteria of the DSM-IV.

Questions of the BDI II assess the typical symptoms of depression such as mood, pessimism, sense of failure, self-dissatisfaction, guilt, punishment, self-dislike, self-accusation, suicidal ideas, crying, irritability, social withdrawal, body image, work difficulties, insomnia, fatigue , appetite, weight loss, bodily preoccupation, and loss of libido.


For whom is the Beck Depression test designed?

Beck Depression Inventory II was originally developed to detect and monitor changes in depressive symptoms in mental health care setting.

 

What precautions should I take?

First of all, BDI-II is not a free tool. You should purchase it.

Beck Inventory should primarily be administered by a clinician experienced in working with psychiatric patients because of the the difficulty of the interpretation of clinical terms.

 

Scoring

Each of the inventory items corresponds to a specific category of depressive symptom and/or attitude according to DSM-IV. The statements are rank ordered and weighted. Beck admits that there is no arbitrary cutoff score and the specific cutoff depends on the characteristics of the patients used and the purpose for which the inventory is given.

 

Availability

Harcourt Assessment, Inc. administers the rights for the Beck scales under contract from Dr. Beck. This tool can be purchased from them.

You may try or free Hamilton Depression Scale.

 

(1)Reference of Beck Depression Inventory:
Beck AT, Steer RA, Ball R, Ranieri W (December 1996). "Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories -IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients". Journal of personality assessment 67 (3): 588–97.

Beck, AT, CH Ward, M Mendelson, J Mock, and J Erbaugh. 1961. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 4: 561-571.

Beck, AT, Steer RA. Internal consistencies of the original and revised Beck Depression Inventory. J Clin Psychol. 1984 Nov; 40(6):1365-7.

Beck, AT, Rial WY, Rickets K. Short form of depression inventory: cross-validation. Psychol Rep. 1974 Jun; 34(3):1184-6.

Sharp, LK, and MS Lipsky. 2002. Screening for Depression across the lifespan: A review of measures for use in primary care settings. Am. Fam. Physician 66 (6): 1001-1008.

(2)Trademark Information:
"BDI," "Beck Computer Scoring," and "Beck Depression Inventory" are registered trademark(s) in the U.S. and Canada of Pearson Education, Inc.

 

 

You may try the following free Online depression tests to evaluate your depression state:

 

Hamilton Depression Scale
One of the most known depression test with 17 questions. However it is intended for clinical use only.

Depression Test for Children and Teenagers
The most appropriate scale to measure the severity of depression symptoms in children and adolescents.

Geriatric Depression Scale
Geriatric Depression Scale is a test measuring the severity of depression in older adults.

Menopause Depression Test
A simple test created by us

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is a special online screening tool measuring the severity of depression symptoms in women having or expecting a baby.

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