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Cluster Analysis and the Classification of Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Nancy C. Andreasen
Affiliation:
University of Iowa, College of Medicine, 500 Newton Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
William M. Grove
Affiliation:
University of Iowa, College of Medicine, 500 Newton Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
Ralph Maurer
Affiliation:
University of Iowa, College of Medicine, 500 Newton Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA

Extract

During recent years there has been considerable controversy concerning the classification of depressive disorders. Investigators disagree as to whether depressive disorders are a single phenomenon with varying degrees of severity or are a group of two or more discrete illnesses with differing courses, prognoses, responses to treatment, familial backgrounds, aetiologies, and clinical pictures (Eysenck, 1970; Kendell, 1976; Foulds and Bedford, 1976; Andreasen and Winokur, 1979). They also disagree about the boundaries between depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, and normality (Roth et al, 1972; Kay et al, 1976; Kendell and Gourlay, 1970a and b; Tsuang et al, 1976). There is no consensus as to what constitutes adequate validation of a nosological class; a variety of independent validators have been proposed, including genetic factors, outcome, responses to treatment, and neurochemical or neurophysiological markers (Guze, 1978; Blashfield and Draguns, 1976; Kupfer et al, 1975; Reider and Gershon, 1978).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1980 

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