Psychometric Synthesis of the Beck Youth Inventory for Children and Adolescents–Second Edition

Abstract

The Beck Youth Inventory for Children and Adolescents–Second Edition (BYI-II) is the most current version of a widely used instrument across a variety of settings with both clinical and nonclinical clients ages 7–18 years as a self-report measure of anxiety, depression, anger, disruptive behavior, and self-concept. This synthesis of 17 studies from 2005 through 2022 using the BYI-II resulted in aggregated internal consistency of .88−.96 across the five subscales. Convergent validity comparisons were very limited, and no test–retest reliability, diagnostic validity, or structural validity studies were located. Intrascale analysis indicated the Depression and the Anxiety subscales yielded the strongest correlation (r = .73). Implications for counseling practice and research are discussed, including use of the multifaceted BYI-II for screening and outcome research with youths. Many more studies of the BYI-II are needed to establish the usefulness of this legacy assessment with school-aged youth.