Beck’s Depression Inventory BDI
Disclaimer: This tool is not to be used in self-diagnosis or diagnosis of others. It should be used only for informational purposes. There are more factors to take into consideration and a definitive diagnosis can not be made without a more thorough assessment of your unique situation. This must only be done by someone who is a qualified health care practitioner. Should you believe, you, or someone else you know may struggle with depression, please seek help and support, as soon as possible. This is a treatable illness and you don’t need to suffer a moment longer. If this is left untreated, it may have severe consequences. Contact your family doctor for more information. If you or someone you know can not keep yourself safe from attempting or completing suicide, please call 911 immediately and locate a support person who can stay with you until help can arrive.
What is the Beck’s Depression Inventory?
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a 21-item, self-report rating inventory that measures characteristic attitudes and symptoms of depression (Beck, et al., 1961). The BDI has been developed in different forms, including several computerized forms, a card form (May, Urquhart, Tarran, 1969, cited in Groth-Marnat, 1990), the 13-item short form and the more recent BDI-11 by Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996. (See Steer, Rissmiller & Beck , 2000 for information on the clinical utility of the BDI-11.) The BDI takes approximately 10-minutes to complete, although clients require a fifth – sixth grade reading level to adequately understand the questions (Groth-Marnat, 1990). Beck’s Depression Inventory BDI
*Please Note: This is not a definitive tool to be used for diagnosis. Please see your family doctor or your health care practitioner for further support, if needed.
References
Beck, A.T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561-571.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R.A., & Garbin, M.G. (1988) Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review, 8(1), 77-100.
Groth-Marnat G. (1990). The handbook of psychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Hojat, M., Shapurian, R., Mehrya, A.H., (1986). Psychometric properties of a Persian version of the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory for Iranian college students, Psychological Reports, 59(1), 331-338.
Steer, R. A., Rissmiller, D. J.& Beck, A.T., (2000) Use of the Beck Depression Inventory with depressed geriatric patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(3), 311-318.
