A METHOD FOR THE PRELIMINARY PSYCHIATRIC "SCREENING" OF LARGE GROUPS

A comparison of the performance of psychotic and neurotic subjects with that of non-psychotic subjects on "General Examination—M" showed that the patients had a distinctive pattern of sub-test achievement. A method was devised for measuring the extent to which an individual subject exhibits this abnormality of pattern in his performance on the test. Application of this method to a trial group of records, served to distinguish between psychotic and non-psychotic subjects in about 75 per cent of cases. A similar abnormality of pattern (less marked in degree) was displayed by "neurotic" subjects.

It is suggested that this method of identifying abnormal performance on a group intelligence test, though it is not capable of differentiating clinical types, offers an economical means of selecting an enriched sample of psychiatric "suspects" for individual clinical examination.