title: An examination of racial bias in the Beck Depression Inventory-II.
abstract: Historically, many psychological measures were developed and standardized based on a primarily Caucasian population. These tests are subsequently applied to minorities and may be inappropriate and possibly even pathologizing. The widely used Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was initially standardized on a sample of Caucasian university students and its use with minorities has only recently been investigated. This study examined the possibility of racial bias in the BDI-II by comparing Caucasian and African American Midwestern university students. A hierarchical multiple regression compared the scores of the BDI-II with a similar measure of depression that is standardized for use with African Americans. There was no evidence of racial bias discovered in the BDI-II in this sample. Implications and future directions of research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1121, USA.
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sashidharan
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Pawlow
authors.forename: Jonathan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pettibone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D015982:Bias; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult