Preliminary study of a scale measuring depression and somatic symptoms

This description concerns the development of a scale measuring depression and somatic symptoms and the selection of its items for a Taiwanese sample. 102 Taiwanese outpatients (28 men, 74 women) with major depressive disorder completed a 44-item preliminary scale. All had experienced a major depressive episode but had not been treated by antidepressants within the prior two weeks. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was administered to evaluate the validity of the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS). Items, 12 for the Depression Subscale and 10 for the Somatic Subscale, were selected for the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale according to their frequency and their association with rated severity of depression and clinical practices. The mean Hamilton Depression score was 23.9 (SD = 5.2) versus 38.4 (SD = 11.3) for the total DSSS; means for the Depression subscale were 23.5 +/- 6.0 and the Somatic subscale 14.9 +/- 6.8. Cronbach alpha was .88 for the total DSSS, .78 for the Depression subscale, and .86 for the Somatic subscale. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the two scales was .59 (p <.01). The new scale had adequate internal consistency reliability and convergent validity. Much study is required to assess its structure, item characteristics, and in judging its applicability and limitations, and sensitivity to cultural differences in clinical settings.