The Manchester Nurse Rating Scales for the daily simultaneous assessment of depressive and manic ward behaviours.

Two nurses' rating scales, the Manchester Nurse Rating Scale for Depression (MNRS-D) and the Manchester Nurse Rating Scale for Mania (MNRS-M) are described. The scales were designed for the daily rating of depressive and manic ward behaviours. The inter-rater reliability coefficients (r) for pairs of qualified nurses were found to be 0.790 (MNRS-D) and 0.949 (MNRS-M). All but one of the individual items yielded significant reliability coefficients. The validity coefficients, using psychiatrists' global ratings as the criterion, were 0.533 (MNRS-D) and 0.650 (MNRS-M); somewhat higher correlations were obtained between the MNRS-D and the Montgomery-Asberg Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, and between the MNRS-M and the Young Mania Scale. The MNRS-D was shown to be sensitive to clinical change following treatment with antidepressant drugs.