Reliability of diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia Flashcards
what is the purpose of classifications systems like DSM + ICD?
to help professionals to diagnose Sz and suggest treatment to alleviate symptoms
Who conducted a classic study called ‘On being sane in insane places’?
Rosenhan (1973)
What was Rosenhan’s aim?
To investigate the use of psychiatric labels and diagnoses + the experiences of being in a mental hospital
What was Rosenhan’s method?
A small number of ‘psuedo patients’ made appointments at different mental hospitals in USA
how did the psuedo patients prepare for the appointment?
did not
shower
shave
brush teeth
What was the symptom the psuedo patients ‘experienced?
hearing ‘hollow, empty and thud’
hallucination
how many psuedo patients were admitted into hospital?
ALL
8
how many members of staff identified psuedo patients as being mentally well?
NONE
when discharged from hospital, what were the patients diagnoed as?
Sz in remission
What did the follow up study Rosenhan conducted consisted of?
Rosenhan told hospitals he was sending psuedo patients
hospital discovered a no. of ‘fakes’ when R didn’t send any!
How do Rosenhan’s findings relate to reliability of diagnosis in Sz?
There is a lack of agreement / consistency between the DSM and hospitals
(hospitals diagnosed based on symptoms not in the DSM)
How do these findings relate to validity of diagnosis in Sz?
Since psychologists said people w/ fake symptoms showed symptoms of Sz and people w/ real symptoms were ‘fake’.
This suggests that they don’t know what they are measuring or how to measure Sz.
They do not have a clear way of identifying behaviour seen in Sz.
why is Rosenhan’s study useful?
It has highlighted issues in diagnosis of psychiatric illness.
How can the diagnosis and classification of Sz be reliable?
Through…
- test re-test reliability
- Inter-rater reliability
What does test re-test reliability refer to?
consistency overtime
