[Validation of the Spanish version of the social adaptation scale in depressive patients]

The Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS) allows a very easy evaluation of the individual's perspective about himself and his environment, together with his behaviour and social motivation. Taking into account that social maladjustment is high prevalent and well documented for depressed subjects and it is one of the most limiting aspects of their global performance, the aim of the present work is to validate the Spanish version of SASS for its application in subjects diagnosed as suffering major depression (DSM-IV).

A cross sectional multicentre study was carried out by collecting information on 464 patients (34.7% men and 65.3% women range 18 to 65 years), which included their answers to the scale and relevant sociodemographic and clinical variables.

The principal component analysis corroborated the identification of 4 main factors: the first one being extrafamily relationships (31.4% of inertia); the second, work and leisure (7.6% of inertia); the third, social and cultural interests (5.6% of inertia); and the fourth factor, family relationships and behavioral strategies (5.5% of intertia). The scale has provided adequate reliability and validity indexes as well as sensitivity to the severity of the depressive episode.

The Spanish version of the SASS has proven to be an adequate instrument for evaluating social adjustment in depressive subjects. However, future studies must corroborate its sensitivity to the effects of antidepressant treatment and potential differences between the antidepressant agents employed.