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Methodological Issues in Using a Polydiagnostic Approach to Define Psychotic Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Anne E. Farmer ,
Simon Wessely ,
David Castle  and
Peter McGuffin
Anne E. Farmer*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF4 4XN
Simon Wessely
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and King's College Hospital Medical School, London
David Castle
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and King's College Hospital Medical School, London
Peter McGuffin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF4 4XN
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Although a polydiagnostic approach to the definition of psychotic disorder provides many advantages to the researcher, there are also disadvantages. A comparison between several different sets of operational criteria using the opcrit computer program on a consecutive series of 397 psychotic subjects is described. The results show that although current diagnostic procedures are generally reliable, such approaches can still only supplement skilled clinical judgement, and there remain many pitfalls for the unwary.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 , Issue 6 , December 1992 , pp. 824 - 830
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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