Depression Test

Although there is no physical depression test, there are a number of self-report depression tests available to assess the severity of depression and other common mental health disorders. In relation to depression, popular questionnaires include the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS).

Both tests have been shown to be reliable assessments for depression and can provide an indication of depression severity. They can also be completed regularly to assess changes in depression over time.

The Beck Depression inventory can only be administered by a mental health practitioner such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. The DASS scale, however, is in the public domain and therefore can be used freely.

The DASS is a 42-item self report instrument designed to measure the three related negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and tension/stress. A shortened 21-item version is also available

Click here to download a copy of the 42-item DASS questionnaire.

For more information, scoring protocols and other versions of the DASS questionnaire visit http://www2.psy.unsw.edu.au/groups/dass

The Limitations of Depression Questionnaires

While questionnaires can provide an indication of depression severity, these questionnaires do little in identifying the cause/s of depression. Although they may give you an indication about the level of emotional pain you may be suffering they do not tell you why you may be suffering from depression, particularly from nutritional, psychological, biological, lifestyle and environmental perspective. As a result, they provide little in terms of helping one determine the most appropriate treatment approach.

Questionnaires are also very subjective and a high score may mean different things for different people. For example, one person with a high score may be spending his/her time in bed all day while another may be functioning very well at school or home.

There is no purely objective test for depression so questionnaires, interviews and other sources of subjective information are the best way to determine the severity of depression for a person.

While depression tests can be useful tools, they should only form one component of any comprehensive assessment for depression.