The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), created by Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, and Erbaugh (1961) is one of the most widely used self-report instruments for psychiatric populations that assesses depression through the depth or severity of depressive symptoms. The BDI contains 21 items that are rated on a 4-point scale (0-3) which reflect increasing symptom severity and cover areas of depressive symptomology including affective, cognitive, motivational, and physiological symptoms (Bumberry et al., 1978). The BDI is scored by totaling the highest responses for all 21 items with the range of possible scores extending from 0 to 63. According to Beck et al., scores of 0 – 9 are categorized as not depressed, 10 – 15 as mildly depressed, 16 – 23 as
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Therefore, one of the major sources of error for the BDI, which contains 21 items with a possible score range from 0 to 63, includes the risk of developing different interpretations of test scores depending on the rater. Bumberry et al. (1978) addressed this issue by calculating a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between primary (i.e. structured interview used for over 2 decades) and secondary raters (i.e. board certified psychiatrists with 9 and 4 years of experience). Researchers found that inter-rater reliability between the primary psychiatrist and the two other psychiatrists was .62. Because the reliability coefficient is relatively high, we can assume that the BDI is a reliable test to assess the current depth of depression. Similarly, Lahlou-Laforet et al. (2015), which aimed to validate the French version of the BDI in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, assessed inter-rater reliability of the BDI through 23 interviews rated by three psychiatrists. Using an Intra-class correlation coefficient, researchers found that inter-rater reliability was .87, suggesting that the BDI is a reliable test to assess depression in CHF
Therefore, one of the major sources of error for the BDI, which contains 21 items with a possible score range from 0 to 63, includes the risk of developing different interpretations of test scores depending on the rater. Bumberry et al. (1978) addressed this issue by calculating a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between primary (i.e. structured interview used for over 2 decades) and secondary raters (i.e. board certified psychiatrists with 9 and 4 years of experience). Researchers found that inter-rater reliability between the primary psychiatrist and the two other psychiatrists was .62. Because the reliability coefficient is relatively high, we can assume that the BDI is a reliable test to assess the current depth of depression. Similarly, Lahlou-Laforet et al. (2015), which aimed to validate the French version of the BDI in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, assessed inter-rater reliability of the BDI through 23 interviews rated by three psychiatrists. Using an Intra-class correlation coefficient, researchers found that inter-rater reliability was .87, suggesting that the BDI is a reliable test to assess depression in CHF