The Beck Depression Inventory

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Introduction and Description
The Beck Depression Inventory is a self-report inventory that attempts to understand the severity of depression in adults and or adolescents. The original Beck Depression Inventory was created in 1961 by Aaron Beck and his associates and was revised in 1971. In 1971, the Beck Depression Inventory was introduced at the Center for Cognitive Therapy, CCT, at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Much of the research on the Beck Depression Inventory has been done at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. In the current version, of the Beck Depression Inventory, the subject rates 21 symptoms and attitudes on a 4 point scale depending on severity. Test takers rate the items listed in the inventory according to a one week timeframe, which includes the day the test takers took the test. The items that that the inventory measures covers cognitive, somatic, affective and vegetative dimensions of depression and although it was developed atheoretically, the items correspond with depression symptoms as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The Beck Depression Inventory is widely known and is well known by psychiatric populations and clinicians. The BDI can be administered in a group or individual format by oral or written form. The 1993 version targets more trait aspects of depression versus the previous and earlier versions measured state aspects of depression. The test is to be administered with no more than 15 minutes to take the test, regardless of the mode administered. The 21 symptoms that are rated on the 4 point scale are then totaled and the range can vary from 0 to 63. Patients that score...

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...y by both assessing the subjects physical and mental state as well as by observing their hygiene, attitudes, and other attributes associated with the homeless (Rubin and Babbie, 2013).

Works Cited

Beck, A. & Steer, R. (1993). Beck Depression Inventory [1993 Revised]. Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.usc.edu/ehost/detail?sid=b747911e-643c-4692-87b0-b9eb0a460505%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=loh&AN=13%3A31 Beck, A., Steer, R., & Carbin, Margery. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression
Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical psychology review 8(1), 77-100. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.usc.edu/science/article/pii/0272735888900505
Rubin, A., & Babbie, R. (2013). Essential research methods for social work (3rd ed.).
Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

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