Utility of the Beck Depression Inventory with psychiatrically disturbed adolescent outpatients

Thirty-seven consecutively assessed adolescents were evaluated at two intervals, one week apart, using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HLDRS). Scores on the two instruments were compared to each other and to the DSM-III clinical diagnosis. High scores on the BDI were not found to be specific to symptoms of patients with a diagnosis of depressive syndrome but rather measured the degree of subjective dysphoria. The severity of dysphoria was found to be greatest in the group with personality disorders and to vary most in this group from one week to the other. Suggestions for an appropriate use of the BDI in an adolescent population are made.