THE HAMILTON RATING-SCALE FOR DEPRESSION - ONE SCALE OR MANY

The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) has emerged as a standard in the study of depression. However, despite its extensive use and the assumption that it is a single measure, integration of data produced in studies utilizing the HRSD is difficult for several reasons. After a review of 688 relevant articles, it was determined that approximately 42% contained referencing errors resulting in confusion over which administration procedures were actually implemented. Since its introduction, several alternate versions of the scale have emerged and alternate scoring methods, ad hoc revisions, or derivative versions of the scale have been applied. These and related problems with the HRSD are detailed along with suggestions for reducing the ambiguities that result from its continued use in depression research.