The Classification of Depression by Numerical Taxonomy

Controversy over the classification of depressive phenomena has been a prominent feature of the psychiatric scene for about forty years and the issues involved have been reviewed on a number of occasions (Partridge 1949; Grinker et al. 1961; Kiloh 1965; Rosenthal and Klerman 1966; Mendels and Cochrane 1968). Briefly it may be stated that a number of attempts have been made to support or refute the validity of classifying depressions into those which are “endogenous” and those which are “reactive” or “neurotic”; using a variety of statistical methods which have included factor analysis, principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis.