classification systems Flashcards
what is the American classification system
give 3 details
DSM
introduced in 1952
published by APA
only accessible to psychiatrists otherwise you have to pay a subscription fee
give details of the ICD
published by WHO
translated into 43 languages
free - no subscription fee
give the definition of reliability and why is it important for diagnosing mental illnesses
the consistency of diagnosis ie more then one psychologist will come to the same conclusion for the same patient. if psychiatrists cannot agree on the diagnosis then the treatment will not work, they will not get, will probably be hospitalised and increasing the pressure on the NHS
what is test re-test reliability
this is when the same psychiatrists diagnoses the same patient twice to see whether they get the same diagnosis. if they do then they have high reliability and it is likely that the treatment will be effective.
define validity
how well does something measure what it’s actually supposed to be measuring ie how well does diagnostic tools measure the symptoms of a mental health disorder. it is important to ensure that the diagnosis of mental illnesses is accurate so that the treatment prescribe will work.
what is face validity
Face validity is a measure of whether it looks subjectively promising that a tool measures what it’s supposed to
e.g. It might be observed that people with higher scores in exams are getting higher scores on a IQ questionnaire; you cannot be sure that these are directly linked, but on the surface it appears that exam scores are a reasonable indication of IQ scores, so your measure shows good face validity.
what is construct validity
Construct validity – asks whether a measure successfully measures the concept it is supposed to
what is concurrent validity
Concurrent validity – asks whether a measure is in agreement with pre-existing measures that are validated to test for the same [or a very similar] concept
