General Behavior Inventory (GBI)

Abstract

The General Behavior Inventory (GBI) is a 73-item self-report psychological screening tool initially developed by Depue and colleagues in 1981. Its primary function is to identify the presence and relative severity of depressive and manic/hypomanic symptoms, serving as a behavioral paradigm to identify individuals at risk for bipolar disorder and to assess for cyclothymia. While originally designed for adult populations, modified versions have been validated for use as parent-report measures of mood symptomatology in children and adolescents. Though the GBI is not intended as a formal diagnostic instrument, it possesses strong psychometric properties and exceptional discriminative validity, enabling it to differentiate between various affective and disruptive behavior disorders.

Keywords

General Behavior Inventory, GBI, Bipolar disorder, Cyclothymia, Mood Symptoms, Hypomania, Depression, Screening Tool, Psychopathology, Affective Disorders.

Authors

Depue, R. A., Slater, J. F., Wolfstetter-Kausch, H., Klein, D. N., Goplerud, E., Farr, D. A. (1981).

Purpose

The primary objective of the GBI is to quantify the frequency and intensity of behavioral symptoms associated with both depressive and manic/hypomanic states. It was established as a crucial research tool to explore the behavioral predisposition to bipolar disorder, enabling the identification of persons at elevated risk for the condition before the onset of a full affective episode.

Despite not being a diagnostic instrument, the GBI’s utility extends into clinical screening due to its proven capacity for differentiation. Research confirms that the GBI scales are effective in discriminating between bipolar and disruptive behavior disorders, unipolar and bipolar depression, and mood disorders versus no diagnosis (Danielson et al., 2003). The development of a short version via factor analysis further supports its use as an efficient screening tool in both adult and adolescent clinical settings (Youngstrom et al., 2016).

Construct

The GBI measures the construct of affective spectrum symptomatology, specifically focusing on the frequency of behaviors indicative of depressive and hypomanic/manic states experienced over the past year. The scale is fundamentally built upon a behavioral paradigm designed to capture subthreshold mood shifts and chronic mood dysregulation, characteristic of conditions like cyclothymia.

The complete self-report inventory is divided into three distinct dimensions: the Depression scale, which comprises 45 items, and the combined Hypomanic/Biphasic scales, which total 28 items. This dimensional structure allows for the independent assessment of both poles of mood disturbance, reflecting the core pathology of bipolar spectrum conditions. Items assess subjective experience and observable behaviors, such as shifts in mood or energy levels.

Validity

The GBI has consistently demonstrated excellent validity across numerous studies since its inception. The original validation framework established excellent content validity, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the relevant symptom domain, along with strong construct validity (Depue et al., 1981).

Crucially, the scale exhibits excellent discriminative validity. The GBI successfully distinguishes bipolar disorder from related conditions such as unipolar depression and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Pendergast et al., 2014). Furthermore, the GBI has shown good sensitivity to treatment effects (Youngstrom et al., 2013), confirming its clinical relevance as an outcome measure. While early studies noted potential cultural differences in scoring, with Caucasians scoring lower than other ethnic groups (Chmielewski et al., 1995), more recent research has found scores to be largely invariant across racial groups (Pendergast et al., 2015).

Reliability

The GBI possesses strong psychometric properties, particularly regarding its reliability. The scale exhibits excellent internal consistency, a measure of how well the items within the subscales correlate. Recent evaluations confirm high reliability, with Cronbach’s α values exceeding 0.93 for both the Depression and Hypomanic/Biphasic subscales (Pendergast et al., 2014).

Additionally, the original validation studies reported good test-retest reliability, with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.73 observed over a 15-week period, suggesting that the inventory provides stable measurements of trait-like mood symptomatology (Depue et al., 1981). Evidence also indicates that gender differences do not significantly compromise the overall psychometric properties of the GBI (Depue & Klein, 1988).

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis has been instrumental in refining the structure and practical application of the GBI. The initial factor structure supports the existence of the three primary dimensions (Depression, Hypomanic, and Biphasic).

More recently, factor analysis was employed to develop a highly efficient short form of the instrument. This resulted in the 14-item 7 Up 7 Down Inventory, which retains the GBI’s core ability to screen for manic and depressive tendencies, validating the factor structure’s applicability for use as a rapid screening tool in both adolescent and adult populations (Youngstrom et al., 2016).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Behavioral inventory

Format: 73 items utilizing a 4-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Clinical and Non-clinical populations

Age Group: Adults (Original intent); modified versions used for Children and Adolescents (Parent-report)

Population Details: Respondents indicate the frequency of behaviors experienced over the past year. Scoring can be done traditionally (summing Likert responses: 0 = never or hardly ever; 3 = very often/almost constantly) or using a dichotomous model (0 or 1 point assignment).

Test Methodology: The scale measures frequency of behavioral experiences. Higher scores reflect increased psychopathology related to mood disturbances.

Keywords

Likert scale, Self-report, Screening, Mood disorders, Psychopathology, Internal consistency, Test-retest reliability, Discriminative validity, Clinical assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The General Behavior Inventory (GBI) was first published in 1981 (Depue et al.). The scale is available for free access for research and clinical purposes. The original PDF version of the self-report measure is publicly accessible.

The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://cls.unc.edu/files/2014/06/GBI_self_English_v1a.pdf

Reference’s

1. Chmielewski, P. M., Fernandes, L. O., Yee, C. M., & Miller, G. A. (1995). Ethnicity and gender in scales of psychosis proneness and mood disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104(3), 464-470. http://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x.104.3.464

2. Danielson, C. K., Youngstrom, E. A., Findling, R. L., & Calabrese, J. R. (2003). Discriminative validity of the General Behavior Inventory using youth report. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31(1), 29-39. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021717231272

3. Depue, R. A., & Klein, D. N. (1988). Identification of unipolar and bipolar affective conditions in nonclinical and clinical populations by the General Behavior Inventory. In D. L. Dunner, E. S. Gershon, & J. E. Barrett (Eds.), Relatives at risk for mental disorders (pp. 179- 202). New York: Raven Press.

4. Depue, R. A., Krauss, S., & Spoont, M. R. (1987). A two-dimensional threshold model of seasonal bipolar affective disorder. In D. Magnusson & A. Ohman (Eds.), Psychopathology: An interactional perspective (pp. 95-123). New York: Academic Press.

5. Depue, R. A., Slater, J. F., Wolfstetter-Kausch, H., Klein, D. N., Goplerud, E., & Farr, D. A. (1981). A behavioral paradigm for identifying persons at risk for bipolar depressive disorder: A conceptual framework and five validation studies. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 381-437.

6. Pendergast, L. L., Youngstrom, E. A., Brown, C., Jensen, D., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2015). Structural invariance of General Behavior Inventory (GBI) scores in Black and White young adults. Psychological Assessment, 27(1), 21-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000020

7. Pendergast, L. L., Youngstrom, E. A., Merkitch, K. G., Moore, K. A., Black, C. L., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2014). Differentiating bipolar disorder from unipolar depression and ADHD: The utility of the General Behavior Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 26(1), 195-206. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0035138

8. Youngstrom, E. A., Findling, R. L., Danielson, C. K., & Calabrese, J. R. (2001). Discriminative validity of parent report of hypomanic and depressive symptoms on the General Behavior Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 13(2), 267-276. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.13.2.267

9. Youngstrom, E. A., Genzlinger, J. E., Egerton, G, A., & Van Meter, A. R. (2015). Multivariate meta-analysis of the discriminative validity of caregiver, youth, and teacher rating scales for pediatric bipolar disorder: Mother knows best about mania. Archives of Scientific Psychology, 3(1), 112-137.

10. Youngstrom, E. A., Murray, G., Johnson, S. L., & Findling, R. L. (2016). The 7 Up 7 Down Inventory: A 14-item measure of manic and depressive tendencies carved from the General Behavior Inventory. Psychological assessment, 25(4), 1377-1383. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0033975

11. Youngstrom, E. A., Zhao, J., Mankoski, R., Forbes, R. A., Marcus, R. M., Carson, W., … Findling, R. L. (2013). Clinical significance of treatment effects with aripiprazole versus placebo in a study of manic or mixed episodes associated with pediatric bipolar I disorder. Journal of child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 23(2), 72-9. https://dx.doi.org/10.1089%2Fcap.2012.0024

Items of the General Behavior Inventory (GBI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• Have you become sad, depressed, or irritable for several days or more without really understanding why?

• Has your mood or energy shifted rapidly back and forth from happy to sad or high to low?