title: MMPI-2 clinical scale differences between dysthymia and major depression.
abstract: Though dysthymia is considered less severe and more chronic than major depressive disorder, it is unclear whether the two disorders are truly different. In this study, MMPI-2 scales of 21 patients with dysthymia and 30 patients with major depressive disorder were compared. The average scores on Scales 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 were in the clinical range for both groups. However, sizable differences between the two groups were found for Scale 1 and Scale 3. Smaller but reliable differences were found for Scale 2 and mean clinical scale T score with major depressives scoring higher on all of these measures. Results indicate that not only is major depressive disorder more severe than dysthymia, but also contains more physical/somatic symptoms than dysthymia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22904-4400, USA. klonsky@virginia.edu
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Klonsky
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Bertelson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index