Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
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Introduction
One of the most widely used self-report inventories for depression. The subject answers 21 items on a continuum from 0 'I don't feel sad' to 3 'I am so sad or unhappy that I can't stand it'. The BDI focuses on cognitive symptoms of depression, i.e. pessimism & diminished self-esteem. 7 items assess physical symptoms. It correlates well with a psychiatrist's rating of depression.
Advantages
- useful screening tool for depression in the elderly
- assesses severity of depression
- monitors mood changes over time
Disadvantages
- not reliable for subjects with physical disabilities
- high item difficulty
- lack of representative norms, thus doubtful objectivity of interpretation
- controversial factorial validity
- instability of scores over short time intervals ( 1 day)
- poor discriminant validity against anxiety[2]
More general terms
Additional terms
References
- ↑ Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, Osterweil et al eds, McGraw Hill, New York, 2000, pg 93, 113
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Richter P et al On the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory. A review. Psychopathology. 1998;31(3):160-8. PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9636945