[French adaptation, concurrent validation and factorial analysis of the Bech and Rafaelsen melancholia scale]

33 depressive patients diagnosed major depressive episode (DSM III) have been assessed by the French translation of the melancholia scale of Bech and Rafaelsen and the following scales: scale of depressive retardation (ERD) (Widlocher), Hamilton depression rating scale with 26 items (HDS 26), Montgomery and Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS). A concurrent validation shows that Bech-Rafaelsen melancholia scale is valid. A principal components analysis with VARIMAX rotation found 4 principal components: retardation and blunted affect, asthenia, anxiety, suicidal impulses.