The DSM-IV definition of severity of major depression: inter-relationship and validity

Severity is an important characteristic of major depression (MD) and an 'episode specifier' in DSM-IV classifying depressive episodes as 'mild', 'moderate' or 'severe'. These severity subtypes rely on three different measures of severity: number of criteria symptoms, severity of the symptoms and degree of functional disability. No prior empirical study has evaluated the coherence and validity of the DSM-IV definition of severity of MD.In a...