[Discrepancy between clinical depression and psychometric depression]

Acta Psiquiatr Psicol Am Lat. 1991 Dec;37(4):317-23.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Convergencies and discordances among three different strategies for the psychometric evaluation of depressively (self-report inventories, objective or external questionnaires, and verbal content analysis) are discussed. Twenty-one inpatients with a major depressive disorder, and 21 inpatients with a non-endogenous depression were assessed with different instruments. While an external assessment of depressiveness coincided with both clinical and diagnostical criteria, depressiveness as assessed with self-report inventories, and verbal content showed lesser scores among patients with endogenous depression (n-21): Such patients assessed themselves as "less depressive" than patients with dysthymic disorder (n-21), even when admitted at a mental hospital. Results suggest that any assessment--as far as endogenous depression is concerned--should be basically performed by means of external evaluation questionnaires.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Psychometrics / methods*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires