Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale to screen for psychiatric disorders in people presenting with deliberate self-harm.

In-patients referred to a deliberate self-harm team were asked to complete the HAD questionnaire and diagnoses were made using the SCID. The total prevalence of psychiatric disorder by DSM-III criteria was 54%. The HAD performed well as a screening instrument; a threshold score of eight gave a sensitivity of 88% and a positive predictive value of 80%; its use by non-psychiatrists to detect depressive disorder in patients presenting with deliberate self-harm is to be recommended.