Comparing two measures of depression in spinal cord injury

This study compares two measures of depression: the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (Zung) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and discusses their use with two samples of SCI patients; a sample of 162 SCI : outpatients and a sample of 30 SCI inpatients. The second sample was used to study the predictor validity of the tests based on clinicians' ratings of subjects' depression status. Results indicate a fair degree of correlation between these tests, including their respective scales. Fairly good test reliability (internal consistency) was also found. Factor analyses results indicate that the Zung is more clearly delineated into distinct conceptual factors than the BSI. When used with a SCI sample, the Zung more closely replicated its two original factors. An analysis of predictive validities of the two tests using test scores and independent clinician ratings suggests that the BSI depression scale and the Zung are the most useful predictors of depression among SCI subjects. The study's findings provide preliminary indications that the Zung is somewhat superior to the BSI as a tool for identifying SCI persons at risk of being depressed during or after rehabilitation hospitalization.