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Can Categorical and Dimensional Views of Psychiatric Illness be Distinguished?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

D. A. Grayson
D. A. Grayson*
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, GPO Box 4, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
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Extract

Bimodality in a distribution of symptoms is often claimed to be convincing evidence that a disorder is categorical, a discrete disease entity, rather than the extreme on a continuous dimension. However, using concepts from contemporary psychometric theory it is shown that bimodality can arise from the dimensional viewpoint. In fact, contrary to the usual belief, bimodality would be expected to occur in many research contexts if the dimensional alternative were correct.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 151 , Issue 3 , September 1987 , pp. 355 - 361
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1987 

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