Psychiatric morbidity in the clients of social workers

Newly referred clients (N = 141) in two inner city Social Service department settings were interviewed using the Present State Examination and the Social Maladjustment Schedule and screened by social workers using the GHQ and the Case Review Form. 73% of cases were GHQ positive, using the 4/5 cut off on the GHQ-28. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis showed that the GHQ cut-off point which maximised sensitivity and specificity in the present sample was 10/11. PSE/ID/CATEGO analysis identified 25% of the sample as "cases" (ID 6-8) and 28% as "threshold disorders" (ID 5). Using a straightforward "present/absent" assessment of "caseness" social workers misclassified more than a third of the PSE cases and correctly identified half of the non-cases. The results are discussed.