Screening psychiatric patients for Axis II disorders.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Assessment

Background:

• Axis II disorders, encompassing personality disorders, are crucial for comprehensive patient assessment.
• Screening tools are vital for efficiently identifying these disorders in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic utility of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders-Revised (SCID-PQ) as a screening instrument.
• To assess the SCID-PQ's effectiveness in identifying Axis II personality disorders among inpatients.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 82 inpatients undergoing assessment.
• The SCID-PQ was administered as a screening measure for Axis II personality disorders.
• Classification rates and error types (false negatives, false positives) were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The SCID-PQ demonstrated effectiveness in screening for seven out of 11 DSM-III-R personality disorders.
• The screening tool yielded a very low rate of false negatives and a moderate rate of false positives.
• Suggested modifications improved classification accuracy for dependent and schizoid personality disorders.

Conclusions:

• The SCID-PQ is a valuable screening tool for a majority of Axis II personality disorders in inpatient populations.
• Targeted modifications can further enhance the SCID-PQ's performance for specific personality disorders.
• The findings support the SCID-PQ's role in improving the efficiency of personality disorder diagnosis.