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Beck Depression Inventory

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Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development

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Synonyms

Similar Scales include: Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) [1]; Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) [2]; Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) [3]

Definition

The Beck Depression Inventory is a 21-item self-report questionnaire that provides a measure of the severity of depressive symptoms [4].

Description

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) provides healthcare workers and researchers the ability to briefly (approximately 5–10 min) assess the severity of various cognitive and somatic symptoms of depression. It can either be self-administered or read to clients by an interviewer. The BDI was originally designed for use with psychiatric patients, but it is frequently used with non-depressed individuals. Since it was first developed in 1961, it has been used extensively in clinical and research settings and with various populations [5].

Theoretical Background

The BDI is based on the cognitive theory of depression introduced by Aaron Beck in the 1950s...

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References

  1. Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 23, 56–61.

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  2. Zimmerman, M., & Coryell, W. (1994). Screening for major depressive disorder in the community: A comparison of measures. Psychological assessment, 6(1), 71–74.

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  3. Kovacs, M. (1985). The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995–998.

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  4. 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.

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  5. Richter, P., Werner, J., Heerlein, A., Kraus, A., & Sauer, H. (1998). On the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory. Psychopathology, 31, 160–168.

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  6. Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: I. idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9(4), 324–333.

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  7. 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.

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  8. Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., Ball, R., & Ranieri, W. F. (1996). Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories-IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67(3), 588–597.

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  9. Kovacs, M., & Beck, A. T. (1978). Maladaptive cognitive structures in depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135(5), 525–533.

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  10. The Beck Institute. Accessed August 23, 2008, from http://www.beckinstitute.org

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. East Tennessee State University, Johnson, TN, USA

    Preston Visser

  2. President, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Center of WNC, P.A., 417 Biltmore Avenue, Suite 2E, Asheville, NC, 28801, USA

    R. Trent Codd III

Authors
  1. Preston Visser
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  2. R. Trent Codd III
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center, 230 South 500 East, Suite 100, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84102, USA

    Sam Goldstein Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology MS 2C6, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Jack A. Naglieri Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Visser, P., Codd, R.T. (2011). Beck Depression Inventory. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_299

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_299

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-77579-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79061-9

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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