Screening for Depression in Prisoners Using the Beck Depression Inventory

Abstract

As part of the admission process to the North Carolina state prison system, 1,494 prisoners completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The mean BDI score for this population was 12.57 ( SD=8.51), which corresponds to the “mild depression” range on the instrument. While overall BDI scores for prisoners were elevated relative to general population norms for the test, female inmates, younger prisoners, close custody inmates, and those serving their first period of incarceration produced even higher BDI scores. Thus, reports of generalized feelings of depression are common among prisoners. Results suggest that a score of 20 might serve as an appropriate cutting score to determine the need for further assessment and mental health intervention in this population. Factor analysis of the inmates' responses yielded four distinct, interpretable factors labeled (a) cognitive symptoms, (b) vegetative symptoms, (c) emotional symptoms, and (d) feelings of punishment. These factors may suggest different components of the response to incarceration.

Parenting Stress, Alliance, Child Contact, and Adjustment of Imprisoned Mothers and Fathers

“…Internal consistency of the BDI-II ranges from .73 to .92 with a mean of .86; (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988). The BDI-II has been used in previous studies with incarcerated populations (e.g., Boothby & Durham, 1999). In the present study, the alpha reliability for the measure was 0.88.…”

Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory‐II with incarcerated male offenders aged 18–21 years

“…Given that many offenders exhibit symptoms of depression and associated problems, such as selfharm and suicidal behaviour (Boothby and Durham, 1999;Domalanta et al, 2003;Palmer and Connelly, 2005), establishing norms among adult and adolescent offenders is clinically important. The BDI-II showed a high level of internal consistency, in line with previous studies (e.g.…”

“…The BDI-II (and its predecessor the Beck Depression Inventory) has been used to assess depression in offender samples (Boothby and Durham, 1999;Domalanta et al, 2003;Eidhin et al, 2002;Ivanoff et al, 1992;Palmer and Connelly, 2005). Boothby and Durham (1999) conducted a factor analysis of the BDI with incarcerated prisoner in North America, reporting four factors: cognitive symptoms, vegetative symptoms, emotional symptoms, and feelings of punishment. However, the authors found no studies of psychometric properties or factor structure in offender populations for the BDI-II.…”

Revisiting the Special Sensitivity Hypothesis: The Prison Experience of White-Collar Inmates

“…Those adhering to traditional social norms and values have also been found to be more likely to resist assimilation into inmate cultures (Irwin, 1970). Further, research has found differences in prison adjustment through emotions, attitudes and behaviors to be a function of either age (MacKenzie, 1987), gender (MacKenzie et al, 1989;Warren, Hurt, Loper, & Chauhan, 2004), or both (Boothby & Durham, 1999). Finally, MacKenzie, Goodstein, and Blouin (1987) and Reitzel and Harju (2000) reveal the importance of inmates' perceived level (or locus) of control over their environment as an important influence on inmates' prison adjustment.…”