Symptomatology of depressive disorder in Turkey. A factor-analytic study of 100 depressed patients

The clinical interview for depression and the Hamilton Rating Scale were administered to a sample of 100 Turkish depressed outpatients who satisfied the research diagnostic criteria for major depression. Ratings were made on a semi-structured interview covering 38 items with closely defined anchor points. Historical data relevant to depressive illness were also recorded. Principal component analysis yielded four clinically meaningful factors. The endogenous-neurotic dimension emerged as a bipolar factor and the bimodal distribution of patients' scores on this factor indicated two distinct groups. The results were compared with other factor-analytic studies and cross-cultural differences were discussed.