The Beck Depression Inventory was developed to measure the behavioral manifestations of depression in adolescents and adults. It was designed to standardize the assessment of depression severity in order to monitor change over time or to simply describe the illness. The BDI is a 21-item test presented in multiple choice format which is used to measure presence and degree of depression in adolescents and adults. Each of the 21-items of the BDI attempts to assess a specific symptom or attitude associated with depression, that association being consistent with descriptions of the depression contained in the psychiatric literature. The test takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Reading age of about 10 is required for a patient who is self-administering the test. In 1978, the scale was revised (BDI-IA) to eliminate duplicate severity descriptors and to reword certain items. In addition, the time frame for assessment was lengthened to the "last week, including today." In 1996, a new version of the BDI (BDI-II) with a modification of items to reflect DSM-IV criteria and to simplify wording was published. The time frame was extended to include the "last 2 weeks." The BDI-II is a 21 item measure (Beck et al., 1996) self-report measure. Although psychometric data presented in the manual for the new BDI-II look promising, the time frame extension to 2 weeks makes this instrument less useful for assessing patterns of change over time. There is evidence that the BDI-II performs well in treatment-seeking substance abusers.

"The AUDIT was developed by Tom Babor and others for the World Health Organization to identify persons whose alcohol consumption has become hazardous or harmful to their health. It is a 10-item screening questionnaire with 3 questions on the amount and frequency of drinking, 3 questions on alcohol dependence, and 4 on problems caused by alcohol. All of the questions are scored using a 5-point Likert scale. The AUDIT takes under 2 minutes to administer. The AUDIT screening procedure in clinical settings is linked to a decision process that includes brief intervention with heavy drinkers, or referral to specialized treatment for patients who show evidence of more serious alcohol involvement. Populations appropriate for a screening program using the AUDIT include primary care, emergency room, surgery, and psychiatric patients; DWI offenders, criminals in court, jail and prison; enlisted men in the Armed Forces; workers encountered in employee assistance programs and industrial settings; and college students. Another feature of the AUDIT is the optional Clinical Screening Procedure, which consists of two questions about traumatic injury, five items on clinical examination, and a blood test (the serum GGT). The Clinical Screening Procedure does not refer directly to problems with alcohol and may be particularly relevant for defensive patients in situations where alcohol-specific questions cannot be asked with confidence. The AUDIT is currently being used in a variety of research projects and epidemiological studies. Research guidelines incorporated into the AUDIT manual suggest further research using this instrument."