The BDI consists of 21 multiple-choice questions, each designed to assess a specific symptom of depression such as mood, pessimism, sense of failure, self-dissatisfaction, guilt, punishment, self-dislike, self-accusations, suicidal thoughts, crying, irritability, social withdrawal, indecisiveness, body image, work difficulties, insomnia, fatigue, appetite, weight loss, somatic preoccupation, and loss of libido. Each question is scored on a scale from 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.
