Self-Rating Depression Scale in an Outpatient Clinic: Further Validation of the SDS

The self-rating depression scale (SDS) and MMPI were given to 152 outpatients in Duke Psychiatric Clinic to test correlation and compare results with clinical impressions. Criteria for differentiating depression from other diagnoses are: depressed affect, psychomotor retardation, dissatisfaction, crying spells, sleep disturbance and irritability. Results suggest that the SDS is a more sensitive instrument for differentiating depressive from anxiety reactions.