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The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is a 20-item self-report inventory developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck that was designed to measure three major aspects of hopelessness; feelings about the future, loss of motivation, and expectations. ^[1] The test is designed for adults, age 17-80.The cut-offs used are 0–3 = normal; 4–8 = mild; 9–14 = moderate and 14 + = severe.

[edit] Validity

The BHS moderately correlates with the Beck Depression Inventory, although research shows that the BDI is better suited for predicting suicidal ideation behavior.^[2] The internal reliability coefficients are reasonably high (Pearson r= .82 to .93 in seven norm groups), but the BHS test-retest reliability coefficients are modest (.69 after one week and .66 after six weeks).^[1]

Dowd ^[3] and Owen^[4]both positively reviewed the effectiveness of the instrument, with Dowd concluding that the BHS was "a well-constructed and validated instrument, with adequate reliability." ^[3]

[edit] See also

• Aaron T. Beck
• Beck Depression Inventory

[edit] References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Beck A.T. (1988). "Beck Hopelessness Scale." The Psychological Corporation.
2. ↑ Aiken, L.R. (2002) "Psychological Testing and Assessment." New York: Allyn & Bacon.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Dowd, E.T. (1992). "Review of the Beck Hopelessness Scale." Eleventh Mental Measurement Yearbook, 81-82
4. ↑ Owen, S.V. (1992) "Review of the Beck Hopelessness Scale." Eleventh Mental Measurement Yearbook, 82-83

• Beck, A. T., Weissman, A., Lester, D., and Trexler, L. The measurement of pessimism: The Hopelessness Scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1974, 42, 861-865.
• Beck A, Weissman A, Lester D, et al. Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). In: American Psychiatric Association, eds. Handbook of psychiatric measures. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000:268–270.

This page uses content from the English-language version of Wikipedia. The original article was at Beck Hopelessness Scale. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Psychology Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.