Assessing depression in Russian psychiatric patients: validity of MMPI and Rorschach

We tested the criterion, concurrent, and content validity of depression indicators in 180 Russian psychiatric patients. Indicators from the Exner Rorschach (DEPI, CDI) and the Russian MMPI (Berezin Scale 2, Wiggins depression content) were compared to Hamilton (HRSD) scores and 3 types of diagnosis: traditional Russian, contemporary Western (ICD-10), and a mixed version. The MMPI scales had significant associations with each other and each criterion. The Rorschach indexes were unrelated to all other variables, even when their affective, cognitive, and interpersonal components were analyzed separately, response styles were taken into account, or the 2 indexes were used in combination. Nevertheless, sample means on 107 variables were roughly similar to Exner's norms. The study represents an initial step towards establishing the validity of instruments commonly used in Russia and North America for assessing depression among Russians.