RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) is the most widely used instrument to assess depression severity, but it has a number of limitations in clinical use. There is no depression scale designed for Japanese culture that has been shown to be valid. This study aimed to develop a Japanese depression scale, the Himorogi Self-rating Depression Scale (HSDS), and to assess psychometric properties of it. METHODS: Data were collected using the HSDS and the HAMD-17 from 204 outpatients of psychiatric clinics. Follow-up data were collected three times with an interval of at least 4 weeks, and reliability and validity were longitudinally observed. RESULTS: Principal component analysis found a uni-factorial nature for both scales. The HSDS indicated stronger factor coefficients and a larger variance than the HAMD-17. ROC analysis showed high ability to distinguish between the presence and absence or remission of depression. High convergent validity and reliability coefficients were consistently indicated. CONCLUSIONS: Although the convenience sample restricts generalisability of the findings and only a single instrument was used as a standard for comparison, reliability and validity for the HSDS was supported. The HSDS is suggested as a substitute for the HAMD-17 in clinical use.
