Depression: 33 questionnaires and rating scales

The Cognitive Distortions Inventory explores the main thinking patterns addressed in CBT. Each distortion is assessed by five items spread across varied contexts in order to distinguish a stable cognitive tendency from a reaction tied to a particular situation. Designed as an aid to clinical observation, it supports hypothesis formulation, guides the interview, and helps target cognitive restructuring work.

The DASS-21 is a psychological assessment tool that measures an individual's levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. It is used to assess these conditions in adults and is often used in clinical and research settings to track changes in symptoms.

The PHQ-9 is a standardized assessment tool used to measure the severity of depression. It is commonly used to diagnose and monitor depressive symptoms in patients.

The BDI is one of the most widely used questionnaires for assessing depression in clinical practice and research. Designed to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in adults and adolescents, it provides a standardized, reliable, and scientifically validated measure of the intensity of depressive disorders.

The SIQ-JR is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the frequency and intensity of suicidal thoughts in adolescents aged 12 to 18. It allows psychologists to detect the presence and severity of suicidal ideation and supports clinical decisions regarding the safety and follow-up of adolescent patients.

The MDI-C is a self-report scale designed to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. It assesses different domains of depression through several subscales, thus providing a detailed symptom profile.

The HADS is an instrument for identifying potential cases of anxiety and depression. It is designed to be simple and quick for patients to complete themselves, enabling health professionals to identify common emotional disorders in hospitalized patients and outpatients.

The CDI-2 is a self-report questionnaire used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. It allows professionals to detect, assess, and monitor depressive disorders in this population and facilitates the early identification of at-risk youth.

The CES-D scale is a self-report tool designed to measure depressive symptoms in the general population. It is particularly used in epidemiology to identify the risk of depression.

The Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS) is a clinical tool used to assess the severity of suicidal thoughts in people at risk. It is a clinician-administered instrument that detects the presence and intensity of suicidal ideation, as well as the attitudes, behaviors, and intentions associated with suicidal thinking, in order to support diagnosis and clinical decision-making.

The ODQ is a patient-centered self-report questionnaire designed to measure emotional blunting in people with depression, particularly during antidepressant treatment. It explores four clinically useful dimensions: general reduction in emotions, reduction in positive emotions, emotional detachment, and no longer caring. It helps the psychologist objectively document a common complaint that is often poorly differentiated between residual depressive symptoms, anhedonia, apathy, and emotional effects attributed to antidepressants.

The Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS) is a self-report tool used to measure an individual's propensity to experience boredom in a variety of situations. It assesses the level of chronic boredom, which can be associated with various psychological disorders such as depression or anxiety. The scale is often used in research and clinical practice to better understand the sources and consequences of boredom in adults.

The BADS is a self-report tool that measures levels of behavioral activation, as well as avoidance and impulsivity, in people with depression. It helps track progress during interventions based on behavioral activation by assessing different aspects of engagement in activities, motivation, and behavioral habits.

The MADRS is a rating scale used by the clinician to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in adults. It makes it possible to monitor the course of a depressive disorder and the effectiveness of treatments. Administration involves a semi-structured interview conducted by a professional.

The DEQ is a self-report questionnaire designed to explore personality dimensions related to depressive vulnerability, particularly interpersonal dependency and self-criticism. Unlike scales focused on current symptoms, it mainly assesses subjective experiences and relatively stable styles of functioning associated with the risk of depression. It is used in clinical psychology, psychodynamic practice, and research to refine the understanding of the depressive profile, personality functioning, and vulnerability factors in adolescents and adults.

The EVQ assesses the feeling of existential vacuum, a core concept in Viktor Frankl's logotherapy. It examines aspects of a lack of meaning, interest, or purpose in life. This tool identifies the degree to which a person feels a lack of direction or meaning, thus providing an indication of existential difficulties that may require psychotherapeutic intervention.

The MCQ-30 is a self-report questionnaire that assesses metacognitive beliefs, which are important in understanding and treating psychological disorders such as anxiety and depressive disorders. It consists of five subdimensions that make it possible to analyze different facets of thoughts about thinking itself.

The DARS is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure state anhedonia, that is, the current reduction in interest, motivation, effort expended, and pleasure experienced in response to usually rewarding experiences. It explores four clinically useful domains: hobbies, food and drinks, social activities, and sensory experiences. Its distinctive feature is that it asks the patient to name their own enjoyed activities or experiences, which improves clinical relevance and limits the cultural bias associated with imposed examples. The DARS is particularly useful in the assessment of depressive disorders and mood disorders, as well as in the longitudinal monitoring of anhedonia in clinical practice, in research, or during treatment. Its subdimension profile helps identify whether the impairment mainly concerns interest, initiating action, effort investment, or pleasure itself.

The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the negative beliefs and cognitive schemas associated with depression according to Beck's cognitive model. It identifies the rigid and unrealistic thought patterns that can make individuals vulnerable to depression or to the persistence of depressive symptoms.

The DSI-SS is a brief self-administered subscale designed to detect and quantify the severity of suicidal thoughts in individuals with depressive symptoms. It allows for a rapid assessment of suicide risk in clinical or research settings.

The DASS-42 is a psychometric self-report instrument for assessing depression, anxiety and stress in adults. It comprises three distinct subscales, each composed of 14 items, allowing a detailed and separate assessment of these three dimensions of psychological distress.

The SIDAS is a brief self-report tool designed to measure the intensity and severity of suicidal ideation over the past 30 days. It allows for quick identification of people at risk and monitoring of suicidal ideation over time. Used mainly in clinical and research settings, it helps identify patients who require more intensive care.

The ATQ is a self-report tool used to identify and quantify the frequency of negative automatic thoughts associated with depression. It assesses cognitive schemas, supporting diagnosis and treatment monitoring, particularly in CBT.

The SHAPS is a brief self-report questionnaire on anhedonia, designed to estimate the capacity to experience pleasure in ordinary everyday situations. Its 14 items explore four broad domains: interests and pastimes, social interaction, sensory experiences, and food and drink. The tool is valued for its simplicity, its good clinical acceptability and its relative sensitivity to changes in current state, which makes it useful for identifying anhedonia and monitoring its course in patients presenting, in particular, with a depressive episode, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other clinical presentations in which loss of pleasure is central.

The Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) is a self-report tool that measures an individual's tendency to ruminate in response to distress or depression, that is, the propensity to focus on one's symptoms and their causes or consequences. It makes it possible to assess rumination as a vulnerability factor in mood disorders, particularly depression.

The RCADS-47 is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. It measures different types of anxiety disorders (panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, major depressive disorder) according to DSM criteria, thus offering a detailed clinical overview of emotional disorders in young people.

The ADRS is an assessment tool used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in adolescents. It is often used in clinical settings to help diagnose and monitor depression in this population.

The Mini-CERTS is a short questionnaire measuring cognitive emotion regulation strategies, focusing mainly on rumination and control-oriented thinking. It allows a quick assessment of the prevalence of repetitive processing thoughts and the associated difficulties in managing emotions, particularly in the context of anxiety and depressive disorders.

The EPDS is a screening tool used to identify women with symptoms of postpartum depression. It is important to note that this tool helps identify symptoms but does not diagnose clinical depression.

The Future Events Scale (FES) is a self-report tool that examines a person's tendency to anticipate or imagine positive and negative events in their future. The test is mainly used in clinical research on depression, optimism, and anxiety, to assess anticipation bias regarding the future.

The SBQ-R is a brief tool designed to assess different aspects of an individual's suicidal behaviors and thoughts. It covers the course of suicidal ideation, the communication of suicidal intent, and the likelihood of future attempts. It allows rapid identification of people at risk of suicide, in both clinical and nonclinical populations.

The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is a clinician-administered assessment tool that measures the severity of depressive symptoms in adults. It is mainly used to monitor the course of depression and to assess the effectiveness of treatments. Scoring requires clinical observation and a structured interview.

The TEPS is a brief self-report questionnaire that measures the usual capacity to experience pleasure along two complementary dimensions: anticipatory pleasure, related to looking forward to a pleasant experience, and consummatory pleasure, related to the pleasure felt during the experience itself. It is particularly useful for assessing anhedonia and for refining the understanding of hedonic functioning in depression, psychotic disorders and other clinical presentations involving decreased motivation, loss of interest or diminished pleasure. Its simple structure allows clinical, psychometric and monitoring use, alongside the interview and other symptom scales.