## Summary: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a self-report inventory designed to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in individuals. It spans a wide age group from 13 to 80 and includes 21 items covering various aspects of depression, such as emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms. Due to its well-established validity and reliability, the BDI is commonly used in both clinical settings and research. It is pivotal for facilitating the diagnosis of depression and monitoring treatment progress. The inventory takes into account the experiential severity over the last week, making it a sensitive measure of current depressive states.
## Instructions for Administration: To properly administer the Beck Depression Inventory: - Clearly explain that the inventory requires them to select statements that most closely reflect their feelings over the past week. - Instruct participants to select the most appropriate statement from each item group, allowing for more than one response if necessary. - Emphasize the importance of reading all statements in each item set before providing their answers.
## Scoring Method: Scores are derived by the following process: 1. Summation: Calculate the total score by adding the number assigned to each statement selected across the 21 items. 2. Score Range: Final scores can vary from 0 to 63, with higher scores correlating with increased symptom severity. 3. Interpretation: Utilize the designated score ranges to identify the severity level of depressive symptoms, as follows: - 0-10: Normal mood fluctuations - 11-16: Mild mood disturbance - 17-20: Borderline clinical depression - 21-30: Moderate depression - 31-40: Severe depression - Over 40: Extreme depression
## Citations and Authors: Original creation of the Beck Depression Inventory can be attributed to the following authors and publication: - Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & ERBAUGH, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of general psychiatry, 4(6), 561-571.
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Item No. | Item Description | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
1 | I feel sad | I do not feel sad. | I feel sad | I am sad all the time and I can't snap out of it. | I am so sad and unhappy that I can't stand it. |
2 | I feel about the future | I am not particularly discouraged about the future. | I feel discouraged about the future. | I feel I have nothing to look forward to. | I feel the future is hopeless and that things cannot improve. |
3 | I feel like a failure | I do not feel like a failure. | I feel I have failed more than the average person. | As I look back on my life, all I can see is a lot of failures. | I feel I am a complete failure as a person. |
4 | Satisfaction | I get as much satisfaction out of things as I used to. | I don't enjoy things the way I used to. | I don't get real satisfaction out of anything anymore. | I am dissatisfied or bored with everything. |
5 | Feeling guilty | I don't feel particularly guilty | I feel guilty a good part of the time. | I feel quite guilty most of the time. | I feel guilty all of the time. |
6 | Feeling punished | I don't feel I am being punished. | I feel I may be punished. | I expect to be punished. | I feel I am being punished. |
7 | Disappointed in self | I don't feel disappointed in myself. | I am disappointed in myself. | I am disgusted with myself. | I hate myself. |
8 | Self-criticism | I don't feel I am any worse than anybody else. | I am critical of myself for my weaknesses or mistakes. | I blame myself all the time for my faults. | I blame myself for everything bad that happens. |
9 | Thoughts of killing myself | I don't have any thoughts of killing myself. | I have thoughts of killing myself, but I would not carry them out. | I would like to kill myself. | I would kill myself if I had the chance. |
10 | Crying | I don't cry any more than usual. | I cry more now than I used to. | I cry all the time now. | I used to be able to cry, but now I can't cry even though I want to. |
11 | Feeling irritated | I am no more irritated by things than I ever was. | I am slightly more irritated now than usual. | I am quite annoyed or irritated a good deal of the time. | I feel irritated all the time. |
12 | Interest in other people | I have not lost interest in other people. | I am less interested in other people than I used to be. | I have lost most of my interest in other people. | I have lost all of my interest in other people. |
13 | Decision making | I make decisions about as well as I ever could. | I put off making decisions more than I used to. | I have greater difficulty in making decisions more than I used to. | I can't make decisions at all anymore. |
14 | Appearance | I don't feel that I look any worse than I used to. | I am worried that I am looking old or unattractive. | I feel there are permanent changes in my appearance that make me look unattractive | I believe that I look ugly. |
15 | Working capability | I can work about as well as before. | It takes an extra effort to get started at doing something. | I have to push myself very hard to do anything. | I can't do any work at all. |
16 | Sleep | I can sleep as well as usual. | I don't sleep as well as I used to. | I wake up 1-2 hours earlier than usual and find it hard to get back to sleep. | I wake up several hours earlier than I used to and cannot get back to sleep. |
17 | Feeling tired | I don't get more tired than usual. | I get tired more easily than I used to. | I get tired from doing almost anything. | I am too tired to do anything. |
18 | Appetite | My appetite is no worse than usual. | My appetite is not as good as it used to be. | My appetite is much worse now. | I have no appetite at all anymore. |
19 | Weight loss | I haven't lost much weight, if any, lately. | I have lost more than five pounds. | I have lost more than ten pounds. | I have lost more than fifteen pounds. |
20 | Worried about health | I am no more worried about my health than usual. | I am worried about physical problems like aches, pains, upset stomach, or constipation. | I am very worried about physical problems and it's hard to think of much else. | I am so worried about my physical problems that I cannot think of anything else. |
21 | Interest in sex | I have not noticed any recent change in my interest in sex. | I am less interested in sex than I used to be. | I have almost no interest in sex. | I have lost interest in sex completely. |