Reliability and validity of the revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).: Results from German samples

Background. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) underwent revision in 1996 (BDI-II) with the goal of addressing DSM-IV depression criteria. The present study assessed psychometric properties of the German version of the BDI-II. Patients and methods. The BDI-II was translated into German and evaluated in a series of studies with clinical and nonclinical samples. Results. The content validity of the BDI-II has improved by following DSM-IV symptom criteria. Internal consistency was satisfactorily high (a >= 0.84), and retest reliability exceeded r >= 0.75 in nonclinical samples. Associations with construct-related scales (depression, dysfunctional cognitive constructs) were high, while those with nonsymptomatic personality assessment (NEO-FFI) were lower. The BDI-II differentiated well between different grades of depression and was sensitive to change. Conclusion. The German BDI-II-demonstrates good reliability and validity in clinical and nonclinical samples. It may now replace the older version of the BDI for assessing self-rated severity of depression and course of depressed symptoms under treatment.