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Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)

Psychology: Mental HealthReliability: alpha 0.913 sample items

About this scale

A 21-item self-report inventory of depression severity tied to DSM-IV criteria, widely used in clinical and research settings. Each item has four response options graded 0–3.

Sample item(s)

“Sadness (0=not sad … 3=so sad I can't stand it)”
“Pessimism”
“Past failure”

Reliability

Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.91. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.

Notes

Commercial license required.

Source & citation

Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996): Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

Beck, Steer & Brown (1996): BDI-II. Pearson.

Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.

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