The Beck Depression Scale is one of the best-known tests to measure the severity of a depressive disorder. The technique is suitable for both adults and adolescents, and therefore is often used in the practice of a school psychologist. In addition, the Beck Depression Scale can also be used for self-examination.
About the creator of the methodology
Developed by Aaron Beck, an American cognitive psychologist. As a child, Beck suffered a severe head injury, which caused him to develop a serious illness. This pathology was accompanied by fears: Aaron was afraid to suffocate, to be alone, experienced extreme excitement before public speaking, and constantly imagined that he would die from a head injury or heavy bleeding.
The mother of the future psychologist was depressed after the loss of her eldest and only daughter - Beka's sister died during a flu epidemic in 1919. Perhaps the psychological state of the mother was one of the reasons whywhich the scientist began to study neurotic disorders with interest. And it may very well be that the E. Beck Depression Scale was developed so that with its help other people could alleviate their suffering, so similar to the mental anguish of his mother.
Cognitive psychology about depression
Aaron Beck studied the dreams of depressed patients and compared them with stories about their own dreams of he althy people. The scientist wanted to refute the psychoanalytic notions that neurotic patients have some kind of “need to suffer”, due to which their psychological state remains oppressed and depressed.
The results of the study surprised the scientist: the content of the dreams of depressed patients and he althy people turned out to be similar. Beck conducted a series of practical tests, on the basis of which he put forward a new theory of depression in the 1950s.
According to the provisions of cognitive psychology, such a disorder occurs when a person's perception processes are significantly distorted. Neurotic patients suffer from fear of the future, and think of themselves exclusively in a negative way. Such cognitive distortions arise due to a person's incorrect perception of his life experience. Aaron Beck proposed a new model of psychological counseling aimed at eliminating such "wrong", maladaptive thoughts.
Beck Depression Scale. The essence of the technique
Your Beck Depression Scalefirst published in 1961. The material for its development was clinical cases of volunteer patients, as well as data obtained by a psychologist during introspection.
The Beck scale is suitable for assessing depression in all its manifestations and, in addition, for analyzing individual characteristic expressions of the disorder. There are 21 questions in the test, each of which implies a specific neurotic symptom. Based on the responses of the subject, one can form an opinion about the course of his depression, its most characteristic manifestations, predict treatment, and evaluate the success of the therapy.
The Beck self-reported depression scale is also used. The procedure for testing and processing the received data is extremely simple, so that anyone who wants to test themselves can do it without much difficulty.
Test procedure and questionnaire instructions
In the 60s of the last century, when the methodology existed in its original version, the testing procedure was different from that offered by modern psychologists. The client was tested with the obligatory presence of an expert who read out the questions and wrote down the answers. In addition, the psychologist also noted the general emotional state of the subject and recorded some of his behavioral manifestations.
Now the testing procedure is much easier. The subject is given an answer sheet containing 21 groups of statements about the current state of he alth for him. In each group of such statements, the patientIt is proposed to choose one that is most suitable for him. All questions are distributed according to the degree of increase in the depressive symptom and are usually marked with numbers from 0 to 3. The subject is given 20 minutes to complete the test, but in case of a serious condition of the person being examined, an increase in time is allowed.
Interpretation of results
After completing the test, points are calculated. In total, on the Beck scale, you can score from 0 to 62 points, while the lower the final figure, the better the current state of the patient.
If testing is carried out by a practicing psychologist, then, based on the results, he can prescribe correctional sessions for the client, the purpose of which is to alleviate the depressive state. In severe cases, the patient is prescribed antidepressants or even hospitalization is strongly recommended.
The Beck Depression Scale thus becomes an important diagnostic tool for the psychologist to use throughout the course of therapy.
