The descriptive psychiatric nosological classification seems to be insufficient in light of recent scientific findings. Especially, the inclusion of socialpsychiatric pathogenetic factors into the diagnosis of depression would be important. Regarding the literature and ten years experiences in homeless psychiatry, an etiologically based depression classification is proposed. The former endogenous depression is a genetically caused group of illness without psychogenic and psychoorganic harms. Recently many "depressive genes" are reported, however, science seems to be not ready yet to give a quick genetic diagnosis of depression. On the other hand, classification of psychogenic depressions can be made using the detection of social psychiatric factors: isolation, stimulus deprivation (partly, selectively, etc.), discrimination, social role confusion or status loss, psychogenic stress, lack of valuable life-principles being able all of them to cause depression. Mainly chronic mild stress, learned helplessness and bad coping with traumatic experiences can lead to mood changes. Therefore, diagnosis of "psychogenic depression" with the signing of socialpsychiatric pathogenetic factor(s) is proposed for classification, which is even now possible. Recently, the names of learned helplessness type of depression, neurotic depression and acut stress disorder with depression are in common use. Regarding psychoorganic depressions, sadness associated with Parkinson and Alzheimer type dementias, with stroke, perhaps with epilepsy and with some endocrine diseases are nearly accepted as possible nosological entities. Mixed type of depression with multiple etiologies should be also separated in the nosology.
Literature: Molnár, Gábor: Mental statement of the homeless.(Hungarian) Budapest, 2008.