Beck Depression Inventory

Carlos F. Martinez MHA, M.Ed.

http://carlosFmartinez.com
 General Test Information
 Title of Test: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).
 Author: Aaron T. Beck, Robert A. Steer, and
Gregory K. Brown.
 Publisher: The Psychological Corporation, 1996
(revision).
 Time to administer test: about 5 to10 minutes.
 General Test Information
 BDI-II Complete Kit (Beck’s Institute)- Includes
Manual and 25 Record Forms.
 Restrictions in Administration: “C Level”
qualification. Users must be licensed, certified or
have a doctoral degree in psychology or related
field.
 Purpose and Nature of the Test
 Type: individual or group.
 Purpose: to assess the existence and severity of
symptoms of depression, not to diagnose.
 Population: adults and adolescents 13 years of age and
older.
 Population for which designated: it is intended to
assess the severity of depression in psychiatrically
diagnosed patients.
 Nature of content: Verbal (21 questions) with
numerical score for each question.
Purpose and Nature of the Test (Cont..).
 Types of Items: Clients choose statements to
describe themselves in terms of the following 21
areas: sadness, pessimism, past failure, loss of
pleasure, guilty feelings, punishment feelings, self-
dislike, self-criticalness, suicidal thoughts or
wishes, crying, agitation, loss of interest,
indecisiveness, worthlessness, loss of energy,
changes in sleeping pattern, irritability, changes in
appetite, concentration difficulty, tiredness or
fatigue, and loss of interest in sex.
Practical Evaluation
 Qualitative features: the BDI-II addresses the
major components of clinical depression, both
the psychological and physiological symptoms,
and it certainly is portable!

 Ease of administration and clarity of

directions: instructions are straightforward and
clearly stated. The BDI-II is also very user-
friendly in terms of ease and speed of
administration.
 Practical Evaluation
 Scoring: each answer is scored on a scale value of 0 to
3 and then combined with all other answers to calculate
a total score:

• 0 – 13: minimal depression

• 14–19: mild depression
• 20–28: moderate depression
• 29–63: severe depression
Practical Evaluation (Cont.)
 Examiner Qualifications and Training: Little
training is required to administer or score the
test. However, the interpretation of the final
score requires a professional with clinical
training and experience (“C” Level).
 Technical Evaluation
Norm and Standardization sample:
The outpatient sample included 500 clients.
 317 (63%) women

 183 (37%) men

 454 (91%) White

 21 (4%) Black

 18 (4%) Asian

 7 (1%) Hispanic
 Technical Evaluation
Standardization sample
Student Sample:
 120 college students from University of New
Brunswick in Canada
 56% women

 44% men

 100% White
Technical Evaluation
 Reliability: a one-week test-retest correlation
of .93 resulted from a study of 26 outpatients
who had been referred for depression and took
the BDI-II during their first and second
therapy sessions (Beck et al., 1996).
Technical Evaluation
 Validity: One of the main objectives of this
new version of the BDI was to have it
conform more closely to the diagnostic
criteria for depression listed on the DSM-IV.
It has demonstrated strong evidence of
convergent validity (i.e. r= .71 with the
Hamilton Psychiatric Rating Scale for
Depression – HRSD).
Cultural Evaluation
 Not enough research on the psychometric
properties of the BDI-II among minority groups.
 The standardization sample is not
demographically representative of the U.S.
population.
 Minority populations were extremely under-
represented.
Cultural Evaluation
 There is no information regarding
socioeconomic status or residential location of
test users.
 Most tests are based on western (US) definitions
and cultural practices, so clinicians should be
cautious when using it.
 I would use it since there are no culture-free
tests.
 Comments
Strengths:

 Helpful to get empirical scores for depression.

 Can use it again a few days later to track symptoms.
 It has a high internal consistency.
 It also has high content validity.
 Comments
Weaknesses:
 Like other instruments it’s not like a blood test where
you get a more accurate result.
 Clients can minimize or exaggerate when answering.
 Adolescents usually minimize.
 Other clients may exaggerate to seek disability and
compensation.
 Cannot treat it as if it speaks the “truth.”
Summary Evaluation
 The BDI-II is probably one the most used
inventories when measuring depression.
 Many clinicians use it to assist them when measuring
the severity of depression in clients.
 Like many other inventories, there are limitations
and problems.
Resources

 Beck Institute website (www.beckinstitute.org)

 Beck Depression Inventory Manual
 Mental Measurements Yearbook.
 Questions?

carlos@carlosFmartinez.com