The psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory—II (BDI-II) as a self-administered screening tool for depressive symptoms were examined in a sample of community-dwelling older and younger adults. Participants completed the BDI-II, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Coolidge Axis II Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Short Psychological Well-Being Scale. Internal reliability of the BDI-II was found to be good among older and younger adults. The average BDI-II depression score did not differ between younger and older adults. Solid evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was demonstrated by correlations between the BDI-II with the other measures. The BDI-II appears to have strong psychometric support as a screening measure for depression among older adults in the general population. Implications for using the BDI-II as an assessment instrument in behaviorally based psychotherapy are discussed.
Alexopoulos, G.S. (1990). Anxiety-depression syndromes in old age. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 5, 351-353.
2.
Allen-Burge, R., Storandt, M., Kinscherf, D.A., & Rubin, E.H. (1994). Sex differences in the sensitivity of two self-report depression scales in older depressed inpatients. Psychology and Aging, 9, 443-445.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
4.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
5.
Barlow, D.H., & Campbell, L.A. (2000). Mixed anxiety-depression and its implications for models of mood and anxiety disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 41, 55-60.
6.
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory—II . San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
7.
Beck, A.T., Ward, C.H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry,4, 561-571.
8.
Beekman, A.T., De Beurs, E., Van Balkom, A.M., Deeg, D. H., Van Dyck, R., & Van Tilburg, W. (2000). Anxiety and depression in later life: Co-occurrence and communality of risk factors. American Journal of Psychiatry,157, 89-95.
9.
Cappeliez, P. (1989). Social desirability response set and self-report depression inventories in the elderly. Clinical Gerontologist , 9, 45-52.
10.
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385-396.
11.
Coolidge, F.L. (2004). Coolidge Axis II Inventory manual. Colorado Springs, CO: Author.
12.
Coolidge, F.L., & Merwin, M.M. (1992). Reliability and validity of the Coolidge Axis II Inventory: A new inventory for the assessment of personality disorders . Journal of Personality Assessment, 59, 223-238.
13.
Coolidge, F.L., Segal, D.L., Hook, J.N., & Stewart, S. (2000). Personality disorders and coping among anxious older adults. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 14, 157-172.
14.
Coolidge, F.L., Segal, D.L., Pointer, J.C., Knaus, E.A., Yamazaki, T.G., & Silberman, C.S. (2000). Personality disorders in older adult inpatients with chronic mental illness. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 6, 63-72.
15.
Dozois, D.J.A., & Covin, R. (2004). The Beck Depression Inventory—II (BDI-II), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). In M. Hersen (Ed.), Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment (pp. 50-69). New York: John Wiley.
16.
Frazier, C., Mintz, L.B., & Mobley, M. (2005). A multidimensional look at religious involvement and psychological well-being among urban elderly African Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 583-590.
17.
Gallagher, D. (1986). The Beck Depression Inventory and older adults: Review of its development and utility. Clinical Gerontologist , 5, 149-163.
18.
Hersen, M. (Ed.). (2006). Clinician's handbook of adult behavioral assessment. Boston: Elsevier.
19.
Hertzog, C., Van Alstine, J., Usala, P.D., Hultsch, D.F., & Dixon, R. (1990). Measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale in older populations. Psychological Assessment, 2, 64-72.
20.
Himmelfarb, S., & Murrell, S.A. (1983). Reliability and validity of five mental health scales in older persons. Journal of Gerontology, 38, 333-339.
21.
Hyer, L., & Blount, J. (1984). Concurrent and discriminant validities of the Geriatric Depression Scale with older psychiatric inpatients. Psychological Reports, 54, 611-616.
22.
Jefferson, A.L., Powers, D.V., & Pope, M. (2000). Beck Depression Inventory—II (BDI-II) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in older women. Clinical Gerontologist, 22, 3-12.
23.
Jeste, D.V., Alexopoulos, G.S., Bartels, S.J., Cummings, J.L., Gallo, J.J., Gottlieb, G.L., et al. (1999). Consensus statement on the upcoming crisis in geriatric mental health: Research agenda for the next 2 decades. Archives of General Psychiatry,56, 848-853.
24.
Jo, S.A., Park, M.H., Jo, I., Ryu, S.H., & Han, C. (2007). Usefulness of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in the Korean elderly population. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, 218-223.
25.
Kogan, E., Kabacoff. R., Hersen, M., & Van Hasselt, V. (1994). Clinical cutoffs for the Beck Depression Inventory and the Geriatric Depression Scale with older adult psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 16, 233-242.
26.
Lewinsohn, P.M., Seeley, J.R., Roberts, R.E., & Allen, N.B. (1997). Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as a screening instrument for depression among community-residing older adults. Psychology and Aging, 12, 277-287.
27.
Mulrow, C.D., Williams, J.B.W., & Gerety, M.B. (1995). Case-finding instruments for depression in primary care settings. Annals of Internal Medicine, 122, 913-921.
28.
Olin, J.T., Schneider, L.S., Eaton, E.M., Zemansky, M.F., & Pollock, V.E. (1992). The Geriatric Depression Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory as screening instruments in an older adult outpatient population . Psychological Assessment, 4, 190-192.
29.
Pinquart, M., Duberstein, P.R., & Lyness, J.M. (2006). Treatments for later-life depressive conditions: A meta-analytic comparison of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychiatry,163, 1494-1501.
30.
Radloff, L.S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
31.
Ryff, C.D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.
32.
Scogin, F., Beutler, L., Corbishley, A., & Hamblin, D. (1988). Reliability and validity of the short form Beck Depression Inventory with older adults. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 853-857.
33.
Scogin, F., Welsh, D., Hanson, A., Stump, J., & Coates, A. (2005). Evidence-based psychotherapies for depression in older adults. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice , 12, 222-237.
34.
Segal, D.L., Hook, J.N., & Coolidge, F.L. (2001). Personality dysfunction, coping styles, and clinical symptoms in younger and older adults. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 7, 201-212.
35.
Smider, N.A., Essex, M.J., & Ryff, C.D. (1996). Adaptation to community relocation: The interactive influence of psychological resources and contextual factors. Psychology and Aging, 11, 362-372.
36.
Steer, R.A., Ball, R., Ranieri, W.F., & Beck, A.T. (1999). Dimensions of the Beck Depression Inventory—II in clinically depressed outpatients. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 55, 117-128.
37.
Steer, R.A., Rissmiller, D.J., & Beck, A.T. (2000). Use of the Beck Depression Inventory—II with depressed geriatric inpatients. Behavior Research and Therapy, 38, 311-318.
38.
Wagle, A.C., Ho, L.W., Wagle, S.A., & Berrios, G.E. (2000). Psychometric behavior of BDI in Alzheimer's disease patients with depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15, 63-69.
39.
Yesavage, J.A., Brink, T.L., Rose, T.L., Lum, O., Huang, V., Adey, M.B., et al. (1983). Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: A preliminary report. Journal ofPsychiatric Research, 17, 37-49.
40.
Zarit, S.H., & Zarit, J.M. (2007). Mental disorders in older adults (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
