Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D)

Category Details
Description The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD; Hamilton, 1960) is designed for assessing patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. It contains 17 variables, some rated on a five-point scale and others on a three-point scale. It includes additional variables such as Diurnal variation, derealization, paranoid symptoms, and obsessional symptoms. The scale quantifies interview results.
Author Hamilton, Max
Purpose To assess symptoms in patients diagnosed with depressive disorders, and to quantify results from an interview.
Construct Depression
Instrument Type Rating Scale
Reliability Interrater reliability: For two raters, the correlation between summed scores for the first 10 patients was 0.84. As more patients were added, the correlation increased to 0.90 for the final 70 patients.
Validity Predictive validity: Among 64 patients, 49 were followed up after treatment. Factor 3 showed the only significant correlation with outcome (0.27), although its clinical relevance is unclear. Other factors showed weaker correlations.
Test Methodology Test Validity, Predictive Validity, Test Reliability, Interrater Reliability
Test Year 1960
Classification 6700 Mental Health/Illness Related Assessment
Age Group Adulthood (18+ years), Thirties (30-39), Middle Age (40-64), Aged (65+)
Population Group Human, Male
Population Details Psychiatric patients
Keywords Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Test Development
Index Terms Major Depression, Rating Scales, Test Construction
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/t04100-000
Source Reference Hamilton, M. (1960). A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 23, 56–61. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56

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Mohammed looti (2026). Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/hamilton-rating-scale-for-depression-hrsd-ham-d/

Mohammed looti. "Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 3 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/hamilton-rating-scale-for-depression-hrsd-ham-d/.

Mohammed looti. "Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/hamilton-rating-scale-for-depression-hrsd-ham-d/.

Mohammed looti (2026) 'Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D)', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/hamilton-rating-scale-for-depression-hrsd-ham-d/.

[1] Mohammed looti, "Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D)," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.

Mohammed looti. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD, HAM-D). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.

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