Neurotic depressions: A systematic analysis of multiple criteria and meanings

G. L. Klerman, J. Endicott, R. Spitzer, R. M.A. Hirschfeld

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

72 Scopus citations

Abstract

Neurotic depression, the most commonly used psychiatric diagnosis, has multiple meanings that are often used interchangeably in clinical practice. The authors identify six different meanings of neurotic depression and present data from a study of 90 depressed inpatients to determine how many patients met several different criteria; 16 patients met four sets of criteria. The overlap that exists between the different meanings is higher than chance alone but not sufficiently high to allow complete interchangeability. Until new diagnostic classes are developed, the authors recommend that the term 'neurotic depression' no longer be used clinically because of its vagueness.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)57-61
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican Journal of Psychiatry
Volume136
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1979
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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