Norms for the simplified Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-V) in a non-clinical population

Based on a sample of N = 4494 participants (2,418 men, 2,076 women), norm values (percentiles, t-values, z-values) were determined for the simplified Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-V). Analyses of variance with gender and age as independent variables revealed significant main effects of both factors and a significant interaction. Gender explained 1.5% of the BDI-V-variance, age between 0.7% and 2.3% (depending on age groups), the interaction between 0.4% and 2.1% (depending on age groups). Because the gender effect was significant and consistent in all age groups, gender-specific norms were obtained in addition to non-specific norms. Age-specific norms were not determined because the sample sizes of the gender-specific age groups were too small. The sensitivity and the specificity of the BDI-V were estimated for several cut off-values based on samples from a previous study (Schmitt, Beckmann, Dusi, Maes, Schiller, & Schonauer, 2003).