Hamilton Scale for Depressive Symptoms
Contents
Hamilton Scale for Depressive Symptoms
Basic Characteristics
- Description
The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) is a 21-item multiple choice questionnaire used to rate the severity of major depression. The scale is applicable to both children and adults. It is often used as an outcome measure when evaluating the effectiveness of depression therapy and treatments. Items examine common symptoms of depression such as low mood, insomnia, agitation, anxiety, and weight-loss. Each question has 3-5 possible responses that increase with severity. The first 17 questions contribute to a total score. Questions 18-21 give more detailed information about the depression (e.g. paranoid symptoms). Variations of the HRSD do exist and some contain up to 29 questions. The HRSD is one of the most common scales for depression used in medical research. It is commonly used in place of or in conjunction with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. The HRSD is often the standard against which other measures of depression are validated.
- History
The Hamilton Scale for Depressive Symptoms was first created in 1960 by Max Hamilton.
- References
Cheng et al. (2007) Predictors of treatment response and length of stay for inpatiens with major depression. PMID 18063511
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