title: Detecting depressive disorder with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 in Tanzania.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of the growing prevalence of depression in developing countries is hampered by a lack of valid diagnostic instruments for the local settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study attempted to examine the validity of the 25-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) in a special primary care population in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
  
  
  RESULTS
  787 antenatal participants were recruited, and their responses revealed good internal consistency, interrater reliability, and test-retest reliability, and the scale was validated using content, construct, and discriminant validation methods. Factor analysis of the depression subscale, however, confirmed the need for a locally developed scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Integrating universalist and relativist approaches, through the validation and modification of scales, may help in the detection of depression in cross-cultural settings.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, Division of Law and Psychiatry, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. blee@aya.yale.edu
authors.forename: Bandy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sylvia F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Kaaya
authors.forename: Jessie K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Mbwambo
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Smith-Fawzi
authors.forename: Melkizedek T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Leshabari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D013636:Tanzania