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Published on: January 30, 2018
The clinical utility of the Beck Depression Inventory after traumatic brain injury
A Green1, K Felmingham, I J Baguley
1Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. alisag@biru.wsahs.nsw.gov.au
Primary Objective:
To examine the psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to determine the relative endorsement of somatic-performance and cognitive-affective items in this group.
Research Design:
Prospective 2 year follow up assessment.
Methods:
117 patients discharged from an inpatient TBI rehabilitation service completed the BDI as part of a 24 month follow up assessment. Demographic and injury related data were obtained from patient files and significant others.
Main Outcomes:
A principal components analysis revealed three factors describing affective and performance items, negative attitudes towards oneself and somatic disturbance. The reliability estimate was high (coefficient alpha = 0.92). A dependent sample t-test revealed higher endorsement of the cognitive-affective subscale with more clients classified as at least moderately depressed using the cognitive-affective rather than the total BDI score.
Conclusion:
This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that the BDI may be an effective screening tool for self reported depression in TBI.
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