classification systems 20 mark essay

Question 1

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Answer 1

AO1
-> WHAT IS A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM?
—>Classification is to diagnose/categorise
an individual with a system like the DSM or ICD
—>we use these systems to diagnose an individual with a disorder, coming to a
justitied conclusion based on the information given

AO3: research to support reliability
-> Rosenhan shows the Dsm-ll is reliable
—>7/8 were consistently diagnosed with sz in remission
—>high consistency rate

AO3: research against reliability
-> Cooper et al (1972)
found that early versions of the dsm weren’t reliable as New York psychiatrists were twice as likely to diagnose sz than london psychiatrists, who were twice as likely to diagnore depression or mania when shown the same symptoms.

Question 2

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Answer 2

AO1
->validity is the extent to which a measure of a psychological variable measures what it set out to measure, in this case the variable will be a mental disorder
—>CONCURRENT VALIDITY is when the results of a study match the results of another study done (eg. if the DSM provides the same results as another diagnosis there concurrent validity.
—>PREDICTIVE VALIDITY is When the results of a study match the results of another study done at a diff results across diff periods of time
—>CONSTRUCT VALIDITY refers to whether or not a classified disorder is a good indicator of what you’re trying to measure

AO3: research to support validity
-> Stinchfield (2003)
—>looked at people on a pathological gambling programme using a questionnaire measuring the dsm - Iv criteria for pathological gambling (19 items)
—>it was found that the diagnostic
criteria was reliable AND valid

AO3: research against validity
-> Rosenhan (1979)
—>assessed the validity of the
Dsm-Il.
—>8 pseudo- patients were labelled as mentally ill and admitted to a mental institution. in the second study 23/193 were falsely identified as pseudo-patient
—>therefore concluding that the dsm-ll is not a valid tool because it could not tell the difference between mentally ill and not mentally ill people

Question 3

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Answer 3

AO1
-> the dsm (Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual) is a classification system that treats abnormal behaviours as signs or symptoms of underlying disorders or pathologies
—>the dsm, published by the American Psychiatric Association contains both the diagnosis of over 300 disorders as well as guidelines for clinicians to make a diagnosis.
—>the dsm gets revised, we are now on dsm-v

AO3: research to support reliability
-> Jakobsen et al (2005)
—> they used a random sample of Danish in-patients diagnosed with sz & a
Sample of out - patients with a history of psychosis to test the reliability of the ICD-10
—>the test showed 87% reliability.

AO3: research against reliability
->Beck et al (1954)
—>found the same disorder being agreed upon 50% of the time
—>therefore reliability has improved but some disorders are still difficult to diagnose reliably.

Question 4

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Answer 4

AO1
->the ICD (International classification of
Disease) is used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and health problems, providing a picture of the general health situation of the population
—>the ICD is supported by the WHO and is supposed to be updated every 10 years

Question 5

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Answer 5

AO1
->to be reliable as a classification system there would have to be consistency with the DSM.
—>this means that the dsm is reliable if the clinicians are using it consistently and arrive at the same diagnosis as each other
—>INTER RATER RELIABILITY refers to the extent to which multiple clinicians agree on the same diagnosis for the same patient
> TEST RETEST RELIABILITY refers to the consistency of results when you repeat the same test on the same sample at a
different point in time.