Presentation of a subscale for the rating of depression and some additional items to the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale.

From the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) a subscale for depression has been derived in the course of a study of depression in which 209 patients took part. The subscale presented in this article comprises 28 items from the original pool and two additional items constructed later. The scale has a high degree of internal consistency and is satisfactorily reliable also among previously unskilled raters who have undergone a minimum of training. It is able to significantly differentiate between ill and recovered patients and among patients with syndromes of different severity according to various classification principles. Reported symptoms rated by the subscale correlated significantly with self-ratings of depression. Since the original CPRS pool also comprises items for the rating of manic manifestations, the scale is particularly suitable for the study of patients suffering from affective disorders, also when a switch from depression to mania could occur in the course of treatment.