Diagnostic accuracy of the British Columbia Major Depression Inventory

The purpose of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy and clinical usefulness of the British Columbia Major Depression Inventory. Participants were 62 patients with depression referred by their psychiatrist or family physician, 19 general medical outpatients with no psychiatric problems referred by their family physicians, and 49 community control subjects. Mean age for the control subjects was 50.2 yr. (SD= 11.8), and mean education was 14.6 yr. (SD=2.8). Approximately 59% were women. Mean age for the patients with depression was 41.1 yr. (SD= 12.5), and mean education was 14.6 yr. (SD=3.2). Approximately 71% were women. Scores of 9 or less are considered broadly normal. Applying this cut-off, the sensitivity of the test to detect depression was .92, and the specificity was .99. Thus, the test did not identify approximately 8% of the cases of depression, with 1.5% false positives. This inventory is a relatively new depression screening test patterned after the DSM-IV criteria for major depression. This study adds to a growing literature on the reliability, validity, and clinical usefulness of the test.