The Beck Depression Inventory

The first self-reporting tool we’re going to talk about is the Beck Depression Inventory, which— you guessed it!—is for people who might have depression. It has you (or whoever’s taking the test) rate your answers to depression-related questions on a scale of 0-3, with higher numbers meaning more severe depression. As an example, a question might look like, “Are you sad recently?” With responses that look like: 

0 - I am usually not sad.

1 - I feel sad most of the time.

2 - I feel sad all the time.

3 - I am so sad that I can’t stand it.

When you’re done, the scores get added up and the total serves as a rough idea of how depressed you might be. With only twenty-one questions, the Beck Depression Inventory is certainly quick and easy to take, and it’s free! However, it’s not the most accurate test. Depression symptoms can vary wildly from one person to the next, and the Beck Depression Inventory is totally reliant on the test-taker being honest. If they decide to lie—say, if they don’t want to honestly answer the question about suicide for fear of consequences, or they decide to play up their symptoms as worse than they really are in an attempt to get sympathy—the test can’t distinguish that from someone whose answers were as accurate as possible. As such, you can’t prove that someone does or doesn’t have depression based on their Beck Depression score, but it’s still useful for therapists and other mental health professionals to administer so that they can gauge how a patient’s mental health has changed over time. 

Essentially, if you think you may be depressed and you take the Beck Depression Inventory, the next step is to go see a mental health professional, because the test score alone isn’t the same thing as a diagnosis.


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