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Psychiatric Diagnosis and the In-patient Multidimensional Psychiatric Scale (I.M.P.S.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

R. J. Kerry  and
J. E. Orme
R. J. Kerry
Affiliation:
Middlewood Hospital and Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, S5 7AU
J. E. Orme
Affiliation:
Middlewood Hospital and Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, S5 7AU
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Extract

An interview with the patient is the main method of examination in the functional psychoses, following which the diagnosis is made. This diagnosis is fundamental in communicating about the patient, in clinical discussions between psychiatrists or in comparing research results. It is essential that the diagnosis should be reliable and valid. Kreitman (1961) has defined reliability as the amount of agreement between psychiatrists examining the same patient, or a comparable series of patients. He also argues that the frame of reference of the examiner should be that of general clinical psychiatry. It should also avoid personality traits in psychiatrists which are associated with different kinds of orientation (Kreitman, 1961). Another problem, that of nomenclature, may turn out to be an argument about the choice of labels. These problems are of great concern to the clinical psychiatrist and are made worse by weaknesses in interview techniques. It is important to look for improvements, and the present study examines the reliability and validity of the In-patient Multidimensional Psychiatric Scale (I.M.P.S.). This is a scale for rating psychotic syndromes following an interview with the patient. These syndromes have been established by repeated factor analyses (Lorr and Klett, 1967). The initial work was based on psychotic American patients, but similar factor syndromes appear from studies of psychotics in other countries (Lorr and Klett, 1968, 1969a, 1969b).

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 121 , Issue 564 , November 1972 , pp. 541 - 545
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1972 

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References

General Register Office (1968). A Glossary of Mental Disorders. Studies of Medical and Population Subjects No. 22. London: H.M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Kreitman, N. (1961). ‘The reliability of psychiatric diagnosis.’ Journal of Mental Science, 107, 876–86.Google ScholarPubMed
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