---
title: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
description: "Perhaps the most famous and successful therapy self-report instrument ever. Started with the paper 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. [https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004](https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004)…"
url: "https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/beck-depression-inventory-bdi/"
updated: "2021-08-12"
category: All OM book glossary entries
---

# Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

Perhaps the most famous and successful therapy self-report instrument ever. Started with the paper 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. [https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004](https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004) about the first 21 item version of the measure. Relatively unusually for a much used measure, the BDI has had two versions historically and the BDI-I has been superseded by the BDI-II, still a 21 item measure. See Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., Ball, R., & Ranieri, W. F. (1996). Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories-IA and-II in Psychiatric Outpatients. *Journal of Personality Assessment*, *67*(3), 588–597. [https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6703_13](https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6703_13). Like its sibling measure, the BAI, the BDI is a commercial measure owned by Pearson, see [here](https://www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Personality-%26-Biopsychosocial/Beck-Depression-Inventory-II/p/100000159.html).

#### Chapters

Chapters 3, 4 and 5.