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The Manic Depressiveness Scale: a preliminary effort at replication and extension
1Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Australia. psym-tha@arts.adelaide.edu.au
Psychological Reports
|October 17, 1998
Summary
The Manic Depressiveness Scale shows predictive validity for bipolar disorder. Higher scores correlate with more medications, hospitalizations, and illness severity in bipolar patients.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychometrics
Background:
- An 18-item scale was previously developed to assess manic and depressive symptoms.
- Initial findings suggested a correlation between scale scores and medication use in bipolar disorder patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To further validate the Manic Depressiveness Scale (MDS).
- To assess the scale's predictive validity in a new cohort of patients with mood disorders.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Manic Depressiveness Scale to 24 subjects (9 unipolar depressives, 15 bipolars).
- Collected data on clinical history, including medication, hospitalizations, and illness severity.
- Analyzed correlations between scale scores and clinical variables for bipolar subjects.
Main Results:
- For bipolar subjects, MDS scores significantly correlated with medication count (r = .45), hospitalizations (r = .46), and illness severity (r = .45).
- Bipolar patients scored significantly higher on the Manic Experience subscale compared to unipolar patients.
- These findings support the scale's predictive validity.
Conclusions:
- The Manic Depressiveness Scale demonstrates predictive validity in assessing bipolar disorder symptoms.
- The scale can differentiate between bipolar and unipolar depressive experiences.
- Further research may utilize the MDS for clinical assessment and treatment monitoring.