SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN DYSTHYMIC AND MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

The lists of associated symptoms included in the DSM-III, DSM-III-R, a nd DSM-IV criteria for dysthymic disorder have been criticized for lac king content and discriminant validity. The literature on the content and discriminant validity of dysthymic symptoms is reviewed and releva nt data from the DSM-IV Mood Disorders Field Trial are presented. Thes e data indicate that cognitive and social-motivational symptoms are mu ch more characteristic of dysthymic disorder than are vegetative and p sychomotor symptoms; subjects with major depressive disorder exhibit h igher rates of most depressive symptoms than subjects with dysthymic d isorder, but there is little evidence of qualitative distinctions in s ymptomatology between these conditions; and after course and exclusion criteria are taken into account, variations in the symptom criteria d o not have a major impact on case definition.