Is the Beck Depression Inventory Reliable Over Time? An Evaluation of Multiple Test-Retest Reliability in a Nonclinical College Student Sample

Abstract

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is one of the most widely used measures of depression. Many studies have examined the reliability and validity of the BDI. However, we found no published studies that considered the stability of the BDI over multiple administrations (i.e., more than 3 trials), such as is common in clinical trials research and during some clinical interventions. The purpose of this study is to examine the multiple test-retest reliability of the BDI in a presumably nonclinical sample. Results show a 40% decline in BDI scores over 8 weeks, a main effect that accounts for approximately 10% of the variance. We achieved a 40% decrease in self-reported symptoms of depression due to repeated measurement alone, not due to any intervention. This change likely represents measurement error with this instrument rather than any "real" change in depression. The limitations of this study, its implications for research, and its applications to clinical practice are discussed.

A psychometric evaluation of the Panic Disorder Severity Scale for children and adolescents.

“…These somewhat weaker correlations between PDSS-C scores with greater time between assessment points is consistent with previous research on the relative instability of scores on other well-established measures such as the Beck Depression Inventory (e.g. Ahava, Ianonne, Grebstien, & Schirling, 1998). In addition, psychometric evaluations of the adult PDSS suggest somewhat weaker test-retest reliability with longer delays between assessment points (3-17 days, r = 0.71, compared with r = 0.81 for consecutive days; see Shear et al, 2001 compared with Houck et al, 2002).…”

The greek translation of the symptoms rating scale for depression and anxiety: preliminary results of the validation study

“…Shortcomings of the BDI are its high item difficulty, lack of representative norms, and thus doubtful objectivity of interpretation, controversial factorial validity, instability of scores over short time intervals (over the course of 1 day), and poor discriminant validity against anxiety. Advantages of the inventory are its high internal consistency, high content validity, validity in differentiating between depressed and nondepressed subjects, sensitivity to change, and international propagation [52]. Generally a two factor model solution is proposed for the BDI, but only the first (general) factor seems to be stable [53].…”

The Impact of Late-Afternoon Stimulant Dosing for Children With ADHD on Parent and Parent-Child Domains

“…Studies have suggested that repeated administrations of the Beck Depression Inventory and other negative mood measures (Ahava, Iannone, Grebstein, & Schirling, 1998;Sharpe & Gilbert, 1998) and the IOWA Conners (Pelham & Smith, 2000) result in steady declines. On examination of PANAS scores, this was not the case in this study; however, this phenomenon likely contributed to the low parent IOWA Conners scores.…”