The Psychiatric Status Schedule as a Measure of Dimensions of Psychopathology in the General Population

Diagnosis and Screening for Psychotic Disorders in a Study of the Homeless

“…While the results require replication in larger samples, they suggest that despite the daunting problems of measurement discussed above, adequate agreement between these methods is an achievable goal. No doubt the use of a general rating for psychosis, instead of a specific diagnosis, enhances agreement, and the rather high prevalence of psychosis in the sample also provides an advantage over other community studies (Dohrenwend et al 1978). On the other hand, the methods differ more than is usual in such comparisons; for instance, the SCID-PD result is based on lifetime history, the OR is based on current observation, and the PERI is based on symptoms over the past year.…”

“…These limitations are especially apparent in the nonacute stage of a psychotic disorder-for instance, in a followup study-because symptoms tend to be less florid, and patients may have learned to deny them (World Health Organization 1979, p. 390). Further uncertainty in the history should be expected in community studies, where one encounters relatively less severe disorder so that cases tend to be less clear-cut (Dohrenwend et al 1978); where psychosis, when present in the history, is less likely to be current; where respondents have had less recent practice answering questions about psychotic symptoms; and where the distinction between a clinical situation and a research interview may be sharply perceived by the respondent, inhibiting disclosure of symptoms to the research interviewer (Pulver and Carpenter 1983). Thus, even with more highly trained interviewers, a better controlled interview situation, and a less elusive study population, information might often be inadequate for a clear-cut decision on history of psychosis and diagnosis in a community study.…”

Confluent paranoia in African American psychiatric patients: An empirical study of Ridley's typology.

“…The clinician's illusion is the belief that the nature and course of psychopathology in chronic patients are universal features of mental illness. Epidemiological research has provided many examples of the lack of generalizability of findings from chronic patient samples to the broader population (Dohrenwend, 1989; Dohrenwend et al, 1983; Dohrenwend, Yager, Egri, & Mendelsohn, 1978; Zubin, Magaziner, & Steinhauer, 1983). On the basis of epidemiological literature, one could argue that the findings reported here, even though they tend to be consistent with Ridley's model, may be due to the unique characteristics of the sample.…”

Expected Diabetic Control in Childhood and Psychosocial Functioning in Early Adult Life

“…The measure of emotional disturbance used in this study is based on two well-standardized and validated procedures (11,15). The original measures were modified because several scales (e.g., sexuality) were judged too sensitive to administer in a telephone interview.…”