For more information:
You may contact Dr. Aaron T. Beck at abeck@mail.med.upenn.edu to ask research-related questions not answered in the test manuals or to request permission to use the scales in research studies. For additional information, please visit: Introduction to the Beck Scales.

Beck Youth Inventories^® - description
The Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment^® (BYI^®) are five self report measures that may be used separately or in any combination to assess a child's experience of depression, anxiety, anger, disruptive behavior and self-concept. National norms, based on a stratified standardization sample, are provided as well as comparisons with scores obtained by a clinical outpatient sample and a sample of children qualifying for special education.

The original Beck Youth Inventories were intended for use with children between the ages of 7 and 14, and the Second Edition of the Inventories has been normed for children and adolescents up to age 18.

They are easy to administer and brief (approximately 5-10 minutes each). Each inventory contains 20 statements about thoughts, feelings, or behaviors associated with emotional and social impairment in youth. The children respond to each item by indicating how frequently the statement is true for them, The items are written at the second grade level, are easy to understand, but if necessary, the inventories may be administered orally. A brief introduction for each inventory follows.

• Beck Depression Inventory for Youth (BDI-Y). In line with the depression criteria of the American psychiatric Association's DSM-IV (1994), this inventory is designed to identify symptoms of depression in children. It includes items that reflect children's negative thoughts about themselves, their lives, and their future; feelings of sadness; and physiological indications of depression.
• Beck Anxiety Inventory for Youth (BAI-Y). The items in this inventory reflect children's fears (e.g., about school, getting hurt, their health), worrying, and physiological symptoms associated with anxiety.
• Beck Anger Inventory for Youth (BANI-Y). Items include perceptions of mistreatment, negative thoughts about others, feelings of anger, and physiological arousal.
• Beck Disruptive Behavior Inventory for Youth (BDBI-Y). Behaviors and attitudes associated with Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder are included in the inventory.
• Beck Self-Concept Inventory for Youth (BSCI-Y). This inventory includes self-perceptions, such as competence, potency and positive self-worth.