Readability of self-report depression inventories

David J. Berndt; Steven Schwartz; Charles F. Kaiser

doi:10.1037/0022-006X.51.4.627

Readability of self-report depression inventories

David J. Berndt^*, Steven Schwartz, Charles F. Kaiser

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Reading grade levels were obtained for 10 depression scales (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory) using 2 empirically based readability formulae, one by R. Gunning (1952) and the other by R. F. Flesch (1949). Results suggest that most of the scales are appropriate for use with both adolescents and adult patients who have attained 9th-grade-level reading skills. The limitations of empirical estimates of readability are discussed, and it is noted that comprehension could be influenced by contextual variables such as scale format. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	627-628
Number of pages	2
Journal	Journal of consulting and clinical psychology
Volume	51
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.51.4.627
Publication status	Published - Aug 1983

Keywords

readability of self report depression scales

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10.1037/0022-006X.51.4.627

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