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Our Measure of Depression: The Major Depression Inventory (MDI)
What Is Depression?
Why Are We Measuring Depression In Our Study?
Depression can be generally defined as a state of reduced or low mood.
Depression has the potential to affect many aspects of a person’s life: their
thinking (cognitions), their emotions, their behaviour, their mental and physical
health, and their relationships.
Depression is one of the most important measures in our study: we intend to
investigate the effect of group identification on depression levels over time,
using a longitudinal study design. There are a number of reasons why
depression is such a key measure in our project. First, it is a commonly-used
and easily-understood indicator of general mental health. Second, evidence
from non-longitudinal studies (e.g., Sani et al., 2010; Sani et al., 2012) shows
that the more participants identify with the social groups to which they belong
(e.g., the family), the lower their levels of depression tend to be. Third,
depression is a major source of personal distress and lost working hours in
modern societies, so examining potential causes and treatments for depression
is a worthwhile pursuit.
How Is Depression Diagnosed?
It is important to note that depression is not always classified as a disorder.
Common life events (such as redundancy, bereavement, some types of illness,
etc.) have the potential to promote depressive symptoms, but these are likely
to pass after the resolution of the life event/illness. However, depression can
become a more severe and chronic disorder, leading to the individual being
diagnosed as having Major Depressive Disorder.
The fourth (current) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV) defines a Major Depressive Episode as involving at least
five of the following symptoms during the same two-week period (the
asterisked items must be observed):
1. Depressed mood.*
2. Diminished interest/pleasure in daily activites.*
How Are We Measuring Depression In Our Study?
We are using the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) to measure depression in
our study (Bech, 1998; Bech et al., 2001). This is a twelve-item inventory,
which covers all the main areas outlined in the DSM-IV definition of a Major
Depressive Episode. Participants are asked to indicate the extent to which they
have experienced each of the following twelve symptoms during the past two
weeks, using a 0 (at no time) to 5 (all of the time) scale. The higher score out of
items 8 and 9 is retained, while the lower-scored item is deleted. The same
occurs for items 11 and 12. This leads to a scale consisting of ten items.
3. Significant weight change/appetite change.
4. Insomnia/over-sleeping.
5. Restlessness/being slowed down.
6. Lack of energy.
7. Feelings or worthlessness/guilt.
8. Problems concentrating.
9. Recurrent thoughts of death/suicide.
1. Felt low in spirits or sad.
2. Lost interest in your daily activities.
3. Felt lacking in energy and strength.
4. Felt less self-confident.
5. Had a bad conscience or feelings of guilt.
6. Felt that life wasn’t worth living.
7. Had difficulty in concentrating (when reading the newspaper /watching tv)
The presence of two or more Major Depressive Episodes (with at least a twomonth gap between episodes) is defined as Major Depressive Disorder.
8. Felt very restless.
9. Felt subdued or slowed down.
How Common Is Depression?
Research carried out by the Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests that
depression is a very prevalent disorder: around one in five adults will
experience depression at some point in their lifetime.
10.Had trouble steeping at night.
11.Suffered from reduced appetite.
12.Suffered from increased appetite.
For More Information:
Email Prof. Fabio Sani: [email protected]