Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)

Abstract

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI–II), by Beck, Steer, Ball, and Ranieri (1996) , is a self-report/interview questionnaire designed to quantify the amount of depression a person may be experiencing and its use is considered appropriate for a number of general client populations. Composed of 21 items, it assesses a wide range of depressive symptoms over a 2-week period. The original BDI instrument has gone through multiple revisions and today the BDI-II is arguably a gold standard of depression measurement. First mentioned in the literature in 1961, the most recent revision includes (1) the removal and replacement of 4 items that assess agitation, worthlessness, concentration difficulty, and loss of energy; (2) the time frame for responses was lengthened from 1 to 2 weeks; and (3) 2 items were changed to assess changes in appetite and sleep ( Hall et al., 2013 ). Each item of the BDI-II is rated along a 4-point Likert scale from 0 to 3 where the descriptors for each item vary and include such answers as self-dislike, which is scored as (0) I feel the same about myself as ever, (1) I have lost confidence in myself, (2) I am disappointed in myself, and (3) I dislike myself. Items are summed to produce a total score with higher scores representing more depressive symptoms. Administration time can be less than 10 minutes.