title: The Hamilton Anxiety Scale: reliability, validity and sensitivity to change in anxiety and depressive disorders.
abstract: The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) was tested for reliability and validity in two different samples, one sample (n = 97) defined by anxiety disorders, the other sample (n = 101) defined by depressive disorders. The reliability and the concurrent validity of the HAM-A and its subscales proved to be sufficient. Internal validity tested by latent structure analysis was insufficient. The major problems with the HAM-A are that (1) anxiolytic and antidepressant effects cannot be clearly distinguished; (2) the subscale of somatic anxiety is strongly related to somatic side effects. The applicability of the HAM-A in anxiolytic treatment studies is therefore limited. More specific anxiety scales are needed.
mesh_terms: D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology; D000525:Alprazolam / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010200:Panic; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D000639:Amitriptyline; D007099:Imipramine; D000525:Alprazolam