CLASSIFICATION OF DEPRESSION THROUGH CLUSTER-ANALYSIS

Cluster analysis research has the potential of clarifying the confusion currently extant in psychiatric classification. The paper reviews 11 studies that have used cluster analysis to create new classifications of depression. These studies consistently found a category of retarded/psychotic/endogenous depression. The validation studies by Raskin, Overall, Paykel, and their associates demonstrate the predictive validity of cluster generated classifications. Despite these favorable results, the cluster-analysis studies have had little impact on the literature about depression. The reasons for this lack of impact seem to be: (1) the unsolved statistical problems associated with cluster analysis, (2) the naive empiricism inherent in most of this research, and (3) the failure to be aware of the political nature of classificatory change. © 1979 Grune & Stratton, Inc.