Concordance between clinical and self-report depression scales during the acute phase and after treatment

The concordance between self-report and clinical rating scales of depression increases during progress from the acute depressive episode to recovery or improvement of symptoms. We investigated this convergence in a group of 52 outpatients with DSM-III major depression disorders using three widely employed depression scales and their parallel formats (i.e., alternative modes of administering the scales). The six instruments were applied at admission and after 12 and 24 weeks' treatment. The results indicate that the increase in the global concordance between scales may be a statistical effect deriving from broadening of the range of scores.