Screening for major depression disorders in adolescent medical outpatientswith the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care

Purpose: To ascertain the psychometric characteristics of the Beck Depressi on Inventory for Primary Care (BDI-PC) among adolescents (12-17 years old) scheduled for health maintenance examinations, and to determine the effecti veness of the BDI-PC in screening the adolescents for Diagnostic and Statis tical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, major depression disorder s (MDD). Methods: The BDI-PC was administered to 50 male and 50 female adolescents w ho received pediatric health maintenance examinations. The diagnosis of MDD was established with the Mood Module from the Primary Care Evaluation of M ental Disorders. Results: The internal consistency of the BDI-PC was high (Cronbach alpha = .88), and it was not significantly associated with gender, ethnicity, age, or having a medical disorder. A cutoff score of greater than or equal to 4 had both 91% sensitivity and specificity rates for identifying adolescents with and without MDD. Conclusions: The BDI-PC is a useful instrument for screening for clinical d epression in adolescents receiving routine medical examinations. (C) Societ y for Adolescent Medicine, 1999.