Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:51:26.514Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessment of the severity of primary depressive illness: Wakefield self-assessment depression inventory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

R. P. Snaith
Affiliation:
Stanley Royal Hospital, Wakefield, and the University of Leeds
S. N. Ahmed
Affiliation:
Stanley Royal Hospital, Wakefield, and the University of Leeds
S. Mehta
Affiliation:
Stanley Royal Hospital, Wakefield, and the University of Leeds
Max Hamilton
Affiliation:
Stanley Royal Hospital, Wakefield, and the University of Leeds

Summary

A self-assessment inventory for measuring severity of depressive illness is described, Its chief merits are brevity and simplicity. The correlation with the Hamilton Rating Scale is +0·87. At a cut-off level of 14–15 points 3% of patients and 7·5% of ‘Normals’ are misclassified. The mean scores for male and female patients do not differ significantly and the small positive correlation of score with age is of little practical significance. The limitations in this inventory are discussed but, despite them, it has practical value and merits further development.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects. Harper and Row: New York.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., and Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clyde, D. J. (1961). Clyde Mood Scale. George Washington University: Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Comrey, A. L. (1957). A factor analysis of items of the MMPI depression scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 17, 578585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costello, C. G., and Comrey, A. L. (1967). Scale for measuring depression and anxiety. Journal of Psychology, 66, 303313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1967). Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 6, 278296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1969). Standardised assessment and recording of depressive symptoms. Psychiatrica, Neurologia, Neurochirurgia, 72, 201205.Google ScholarPubMed
Hunt, S. M., Singer, K., and Cobb, S. (1967). Components of depression. Identified from a self-rating depression inventory for survey use. Archives of General Psychiatry, 16, 441447.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, A. J. (1934). Melancholia. A clinical survey of depressive states. Journal of Mental Science, 80, 277378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zinkin, S., and Birtchnell, J. (1968). Unilateral electroconvulsive therapy: its effects on memory and its therapeutic efficacy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 973988.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zuckerman, M., and Lubin, B. (1965). Manual for Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. Educational and Industrial Testing Service: San Diego, California.Google Scholar
Zung, W. W. K. (1965). A self-rating depression scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 12, 6370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed