THE MEASUREMENT OF EMOTIONAL REACTION AND DEPRESSION IN A SOUTH-AFRICAN STROKE POPULATION

The study evaluated the sensitivity of a newly devised scale for measu rement of emotional reactions and depression, on a group of 25 stroke patients, with right or left hemisphere damage, and 15 age-matched con trols. Four clusters were examined: communication, expression of emoti ons, sense of self and physical or psychomotor problems. Case history factors such as time since onset, gender, anti-depressant medication a nd severity of aphasia were related to performance on the scale. Resul ts indicated that the scale allowed for expression of emotion in all t hree groups tested and that speech and communication items significant ly differentiated right and left hemisphere subjects. A strong correla tion was found between spouse reports and self reports on selected ite ms of the scale. Time since onset was found to be important in predict ing level of depression. These findings have implications for assessme nt and management of stroke.