DSM-IV antisocial personality disorder field trial

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Mental Health Diagnostics

Background:

• The 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) involved 12 field trials to evaluate proposed revisions.
• Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) diagnosis criteria were assessed for simplification and inclusion of psychopathy traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate proposed revisions for Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) diagnosis in the DSM-IV.
• To assess the impact of removing certain DSM-III-R items and adding traditional psychopathy traits.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a field trial across 4 sites sampling relevant populations: prison inmates, psychiatric inpatients, substance use disorder outpatients, and homeless individuals.
• Analyzed data to evaluate diagnostic item relevance and the feasibility of incorporating psychopathy traits.

Main Results:

• Some items from the DSM-III-R could be deleted without compromising the diagnosis of APD.
• The field trial yielded inconclusive results regarding the inclusion of more traditional psychopathy traits in the APD diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• Diagnostic criteria for APD can be simplified by removing certain items.
• Further research is needed to determine the optimal inclusion of psychopathy traits in APD diagnosis.