The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) is a 21-item self-report inventory that takes 5-10 minutes to administer and is used to assess the existence and severity of depression symptoms in adolescents and adults; it demonstrates high reliability and validity for measuring depression based on the DSM-IV criteria and is one of the most commonly used depression assessments by clinicians. However, it also has limitations like all self-report measures, including that responses can be exaggerated or minimized and it cannot provide a definitive medical diagnosis of depression.

1. Beck Depression Inventory
Carlos F. Martinez, M.Ed., MHA
carlosFmartinez.com

2. 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.

3. General Test Information
 Cost: BDI-II Complete Kit (Beck’s Institute)-
Includes Manual and 25 Record Forms…$110.00
 Restrictions in Administration: “C Level”
qualification. Users must be licensed, certified or
have a doctoral degree in psychology or related
field.

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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).

9. 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

10. Technical Evaluation
Standardization sample
Student Sample:
 120 college students from University of New
Brunswick in Canada
 56% women
 44% men
 100% White

11. 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).

12. 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).

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Reviewer’s Comments
 Dr. Elizabeth Peterson-Vita (Clinical Director at
Mecklenburg County Area Mental Health) has used
the BDI-II more than 2,000 times and recommends it.
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.

16. Reviewer’s 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.
 In her experience adolescents usually minimize.
 Other clients may exaggerate to seek disability and
compensation.
 Cannot treat it as if it speaks the “truth.”

17. 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.

18. Resources
 Beck Institute website (www.beckinstitute.org)
 Beck Depression Inventory Manual
 Mental Measurements Yearbook.
 Personal communication with Dr. Elizabeth
Peterson-Vita (Clinical Director at Mecklenburg
County Area Mental Health)