Beck Depression Inventory

What is the Beck Depression Inventory?

This long-used depression inventory was designed around 1961 by Dr. Aaron T. Beck. It’s a simple well-laid-out 21-question inventory that allows the person taking it to self-assess for depression. However, it’s usually given and analyzed by a health care professional.

The Beck Depression Inventory or BDI, has been updated, and with the update it has been changed in order to better address the needs of people suffering from depression. For instance, when the inventory was first created back in the 1960s, it relied on scores that were easily skewed because certain questions within questions counted as the same number of points. For an inventory, or depression test to be realistic, questions need to be easy to sort and have different worth.

Additionally, the first version was missing certain important diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder found in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The current version reflects the changes made to the DSM-IV-TR.

Scoring the BDI II

The current BDI II is more flawless than the original, with the same 21 question format, but a difference in end values. Each question offers a possible four-point scale for each question. The following is the current end scoring matrix.

• 0-13 indicates minimal depression.
• 14-19 indicates a mild form of depression.
• 20-28 indicates moderate depression.
• 29-63 indicates severe depression.

The higher someone’s score, the more likely it is that they may be clinically depressed. If a moderate-to-severe score is calculated further tests and assessments are necessary before a doctor would come to an absolute decision.

You can view much more information about BDI II assessment scoring and reliability at the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education.

Types of Questions on the BDI II

The questions are written at a fifth-sixth grade reading level and measure signals and symptoms that are easy for the person taking the test to spot.

The questions themselves relate to feeling/issues such as:

• Pessimism
• Sense of failure
• Satisfaction with life
• Guilt
• Self hate
• Self accusations
• Crying spells
• Irritability
• Social habits and withdrawal
• Decision making
• Body image
• Work drive
• Sleep disturbance or oversleep
• Fatigue
• Appetite
• Weight loss
• Libido

Benefits of the BDI II

• Provides a super quick and fairly accurate overview of how any one person is feeling at the time they take it.
• Many people find the questions easy to understand; it’s not overly technical or medical in terms of language.
• It can be given anywhere with no special machines or tools. At least you need a doctor with a voice and at most a pen and paper.
• The assessment does give a fairly accurate indication (when given correctly) that someone may or may not be depressed and does so in a non-evasive way. Some may consider questions evasive to a point but overall the test is neutral and easy for people to handle.
• It can help a doctor know when someone needs help for depression; with issues like suicide and depression being very real issues every person that can be helped is a good thing.

Cons or Limitations of the BDI II

• While some think that the BDI II can effectively diagnose depression that’s not actually what the inventory does. In reality it’s only an assessment or measurement of signals or symptoms of someone who may or may not have depression.
• The inventory has only been proved useful for people aged 13 and up so children cannot benefit. It can however, be used for measuring teen depression.
• There have been no large studies that look at how the BDI II works for minorities or other sub-populations – say homeless youth or displaced employees.
• One sub-population that has been studied are elderly patients. According to one study (Sharp and Lipsky; 2002) the scores for the elderly cannot be completely trusted because of psychometric data on the BDI II are mixed.
• It’s such an easy assessment that often patients are simply handed the inventory and asked to fill it out. Various research has shown that the inventory is far more reliable and shows different results when actually given to someone by a trained mental health care professional.

The bottom line is that the BDI II is a decent assessment for measuring symptoms of possible depression; even major depression, when given properly. It’s available on the internet but if you think you or someone else may be depressed it’s a much better plan to talk to a doctor rather than self-take this self-assessment. The assessment cannot help you if you are depressed, while a doctor can provide support and discuss treatment options with you..