Depressive symptomatology: Deviation from a personal norm

Seventy outpatients at a community mental health center completed the Self-Rating Depression scale, additional questions about their symptoms, and the Restraint Scale which measures attitudes about eating and dieting. The data indicated that some patients gained (not lost) weight during depression and this appears related to their being restrained eaters. The results also suggested that some patients sleep or nap more (not less) during depression while some use drinking as a coping mechanism for depression. Arguments were presented for the bidirectional nature of depressive symptomatology to include deviations from a personal norm. It was suggested that a checklist of symptom categories including symptom direction, magnitude, and desirability would be a better instrument for assessing clinical depression.