This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Jonathan Davidson, MD; Craig Turnbull, PhD; Rosemary Strickland, RN, MSN; Michael Belyea, PhD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1984;41(5):506-511.

Abstract
• Five scales were evaluated for the diagnosis of melancholia or endogenous depression. Of 21 total items, none appeared in all five scales, but four items occurred in four of the scales: autonomy of mood, pervasive anhedonia, psychomotor change, and guilt. Vegetative changes were represented inconsistently, with anorexia and weight loss in three scales, as was distinct quality of mood. Thereafter, item agreement between the scales fell off. Scale performance was tested in 50 depressive patients. Major differences were found in frequency of melancholia and scale orientation toward inpatients and outpatients. A number of old controversies remain dormant in these scales. Unresolved are the relationship between melancholia and severity of depression; the relevance of precipitating events, previous depressive episodes, type of onset, and adequacy of personality; and whether to classify by category or continuum. The merits of statistically and consensually derived scales also need to be evaluated.

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center (Dr Davidson) and Veterans Administration Medical Center (Dr Davidson and Ms Strickland), Durham, NC; and the Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina (Drs Turnbull and Belyea), Chapel Hill, NC.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Dec 8, 1983.

Reprint requests to Department of Psychiatry, VA Medical Center, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC 27705 (Dr Davidson).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Is DSM-IV Needed at All?
Zimmerman
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990;47:974-976.
ABSTRACT  

Predictors of Drug Response in Depression
Joyce and Paykel
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1989;46:89-99.
ABSTRACT  

Melancholia
Paykel
J Psychopharmacol 1987;1:67-70.
 

The Validity of the Dexamethasone Suppression Test as a Marker for Endogenous Depression
Zimmerman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1986;43:347-355.
ABSTRACT  

The Validity of Four Definitions of Endogenous Depression: II. Clinical, Demographic, Familial, and Psychosocial Correlates
Zimmerman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1986;43:234-244.
ABSTRACT