Skip to main content
No access
Research Article
Published Online: September 1992

Sensitivity of psychiatric diagnosis based on the best estimate procedure

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A "best estimate" diagnosis is one made by expert clinicians on the basis of diagnostic information from direct interview conducted by another clinician plus information from medical records and from reports of family members. The authors address the question of whether the best estimate procedure can enhance the classification of psychiatric diagnoses of subjects who are interviewed directly. METHOD: Four hundred seventy-five subjects were interviewed directly: 201 opiate-addicted probands who sought treatment from a university-based clinic and 274 of their spouses and/or first-degree relatives. Subjects were interviewed by trained clinical assessors using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia and classified according to Research Diagnostic Criteria. Two psychologists independently diagnosed the same subjects by applying the best estimate procedure. Lifetime rates of major and minor depressive disorder, antisocial personality, alcoholism, and drug abuse were calculated. The rates of diagnoses made on the basis of direct interviews alone were compared with the rates of diagnoses made according to the best estimate procedure. RESULTS: Higher rates of diagnoses of all four disorders were made when the best estimate procedure was applied than when direct interview alone was used; the best estimate procedure also resulted in a minimal rate of false positives. CONCLUSIONS: The higher rate of diagnoses based on the best estimate procedure may represent an enhancement in the accuracy of psychiatric diagnoses or an increase in erroneous diagnoses. The authors consider the second possibility less likely.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
Pages: 1225 - 1227
PubMed: 1503136

History

Published in print: September 1992
Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard

View Options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login
Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

View options

PDF/ePub

View PDF/ePub

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share