[Usefulness of self-assessment scales for anxiety and depression in internal medicine]

The rating scales and questionnaires of quantitative psychopathology constitute an aid for the resident physician in the recognition of depressive and anxiety disorders in medical wards. The specific interest of these scales is more in the symptomatic intensity than in the diagnosis. A structured questionnaire leading to a DSM-III diagnosis of mood disorders shows the differences of these two approaches. Analyses of the results of two new self-assessment scales for depression compared to those of a diagnostic instrument permit to appreciate the respective prevalence of mood disorders and the intensity of depressive symptomatology.