Elsevier

Schizophrenia Research

Volume 3, Issue 4, July–August 1990, Pages 247-251
Schizophrenia Research

A depression rating scale for schizophrenics

https://doi.org/10.1016/0920-9964(90)90005-RGet rights and content

Abstract

Scales for assessing depression are well developed for non-psychotic populations but have been criticized for being inappropriate for psychotic populations. As a result we have developed a new rating scale for the measurement of depression in schizophrenia based on items selected from the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Present State Examination. The selection was based on a three stage procedure first factor analysis then measures of internal consistency and finally face validity. Ratings of depression were made on 50 acutely ill schizophrenics meeting DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia assessed at two points in time. Our results indicate that several items from both scales form a superior instrument for measuring depression in schizophrenia. The eleven items generated a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 at time one and 0.89 at time 2.

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