ASSESSING DEPRESSION IN PRIMARY-CARE PRACTICE WITH THE BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY AND THE HAMILTON RATING-SCALE FOR DEPRESSION

Individuals suffering from depression seek help as frequently in the p rimary care setting as in psychiatric facilities. As primary care phys icians increasingly provide such treatments, they will need to assess a patient's clinical status before, during, and after treatment. The a uthors evaluated the concordance and factor structures of 2 widely use d depression inventories, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Hamilt on Rating Scale for Depression, in a sample of primary care patients p articipating in a randomized, control trial of treatments for major de pression. The 2 scales were significantly correlated and assessed simi lar rates of improvement at multiple assessment points. Factor analyse s indicated that despite their equivalent assessment of severity of de pression, the 2 instruments emphasize different dimensions of depressi on.