Seven-month clinical outcome of anhedonic and normally hedonic depressed inpatients

Using a measure of capacity for pleasurable experiences (the Pleasure Scale), the authors compared at admission and 7-month follow-up 74 psychiatric inpatients meeting DSM-III criteria for major depression. Pleasure scores were stable over 7 months despite the fact that two-thirds of the sample recovered from depression. The subgroup of subjects who were most anhedonic at admission were more likely than the remaining subjects to show clinical recovery but persisted in exhibiting a lower pleasure score (even when the comparison was limited to recovered subjects). Pleasure scores were much better predictors of clinical recovery than were neuroticism scores.