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Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D)

Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D)

Hamilton, 1960.

The HAM-D is a 17-item clinician-report measure assessing depressive symptoms in adults. The HAM-D can be used as a screening tool (Hamilton, 1960). There is disagreement in the literature regarding the HAM-D’s sensitivity to change and thus its appropriateness as a treatment monitoring tool. The HAM-D has been used in several studies with adolescents (e.g. Keller et al., 2001), but a separate adolescent version does not exist. Sample items include, “Depressed mood” and “Feelings of guilt.” Eight symptoms are scored by severity on a zero to four scale, and eight symptoms are scored by intensity on a zero to two scale. The HAM-D is designed to be administered in 12 minutes and a structured interview guide can assist in scoring. The HAM-D demonstrates good internal consistency (α = .83), and adequate test-retest reliability over a period of four days (r = .81). It demonstrates good to excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC = 80-.99). In addition, the HAM-D demonstrates concurrent validity with both the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the Inventory of Depressive Symptoms. Although the HAM-D has been translated into many different languages, it has not been commonly used as an outcome measure in cross-culture studies.

The measure is available online (http://www.outcometracker.org).

(Psych Congress Network, 2013; Bagby, Ryder, Schuller, & Marshall, 2004; Helmreich et al., 2011) (MADRS; Montgomery & Asberg, 1979) (Cusin, Yang, Yeung, & Fava, 2010) (Williams, 1988) George & Mallery, 2005; Rush et al., 2003

(Cusin et al., 2010) (IDS-C; Hamilton, 2000; Rush, 1986) (SIGH-D; Williams, 1988) Moberg et al., 2001

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