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Predictive validity of subtypes of chronic affective disorders derived by cluster analysis
Author(s) -
Furukawa T.,
Awaji R.,
Nakazato H.,
Sumita Y.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1995.tb09797.x
Subject(s) - psychology , psychosocial , clinical psychology , predictive validity , personality disorders , personality , social functioning , psychometrics , psychiatry , distress , social psychology
This study aimed to examine the predictive validity of the cluster‐analytically derived 3 subtypes of chronic affective disorders that were proposed on the basis of cross‐sectional symptoms and were shown to have some external validity with regard to psychosocial characteristics. Two‐year naturalistic follow‐up data were available for 38 (97%) of the original 39 patients with chronic affective disorders. The 3 subtypes, which were named psychotic subtype, late‐onset female subtype and depressive personality subtype in the previous analyses, did not differ in their depressive severity or social functioning upon entry. In the course of the 2‐year follow‐up, however, there were significant differences in the Global Assessment of Functioning scores as well as the social adaptation in the economic sphere according to the Social Adjustment Scale‐Self Report. All these indices revealed the psychotic subtype to have the worst outcome, followed by the depressive personality subtype, and the late‐onset female subtype fared best.