A PROSPECTIVE TEST OF CRITERIA FOR RESPONSE, REMISSION, RELAPSE, RECOVERY, AND RECURRENCE IN DEPRESSED-PATIENTS TREATED WITH COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOR THERAPY

The definitions that are commonly employed to describe the outcome of the depressive disorders are often used in inconsistent ways and remai n largely untested. The lack of a standard and valid set of outcome de finitions hinders the study of the naturalistic course and treatment o f depressive disorders. In the present study, we operationalized defin itions for response, remission, relapse, recovery, and recurrence and examined their validity in a sample of depressed patients created with cognitive behavior therapy. Validity was evaluated by the ability of the definitions to predict subsequent outcome in acute treatment and d uring a 3 year follow-up period. All five definitions demonstrated mod erate to excellent validity. Moreover, we were able to empirically dis tinguish response from remission, and relapse from recurrence, despite the frequent confusion of these terms in the literature. Several of t he findings sugest that continued refinement of the outcome definition s may enhance validity even further. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.