Diagnosis and Assessment

Question 1

What is reliability? and what are some types?

Answer 1

consistency of measurement, across time and across raters

Question 2

What is validity? What is another type?

Answer 2

meaningfulness of measurement, construct validity (is the test measuring what it claims to?)

Question 3

What is standardization? what does it facilitate with?

Answer 3

uniform application of a measure, facilitates comparison of an individual’s score to a reference population

Question 4

What is nosology?

Answer 4

medical science dealing with the classification of diseases

Question 5

What is a syndrome?

Answer 5

a constellation of syndromes

Question 6

Indexical?

Answer 6

indexical points at it, in the direction of the disorder

Question 7

What are criticisms of Diagnosis?

Answer 7

• concerns of overmedicalization (calling things that aren’t disorders, disorders)
• concerns about misinterpretation of diagnosis
• stigma
• overdiagnosis, underdiagnosis
• categories don’t capture the uniqueness of the person

Question 8

Rationales for Diagnosis

Answer 8

Guide
facilitate
can be a relief
other practicalities

Question 9

What is important about the changes in the 2000 DSM to the 2022?

Answer 9

• added new diagnosis
  -renamed some diagnosis
• combined or reorganized some diagnosis
• included emphasis on cultural influence

Question 10

From 0-1 what is perfect reliability?

Answer 10

1

Question 11

Does the DSM rely on cutoffs? Is this a potential problem?

Answer 11

Yes, you need a certain # of symptoms required for diagnosis. Could potentially be a problem this science can’t be cut off at its joints

Question 12

Heterogeneity within diagnoses

Answer 12

• diverse in terms of symptoms can have different qualifying symptoms (everyone is different)
• diverse in terms of their causes

Question 13

Heterogeneity within diagnostic criteria

Answer 13

common symptoms across diagnoses

Question 14

Comorbidity between diagnosis

Answer 14

meaning with multiple illnesses (more people who fit for both depression and anxiety than just 1)

Question 15

Not otherwise specified?

Answer 15

• some of the most commonly used diagnoses
• not everyone who has symptoms meets criteria for officially specified diagnosis categories

Question 16

Diagnostic Bias

Answer 16

-differences in rates of diagnosis across demographic groups (could be “real” or bias)

Question 17

Evaluating the DSM approach, making categories to diagnose (not clear that the current approach is facilitating major reduction in disease burden)

Answer 17

• still don’t know the cause
• detection lags
• prevalence not declining over time
• treatments are highly nonspecific

Question 18

All the existing psychological disorders are probably best conceptualized as “open concepts”

Question 19

Key questions in assessment?

Answer 19

• What is the context?
• Who is the client?
• What is the purpose?

Question 20

Types of clinical interviewing

Answer 20

• formal vs informal
• semi structured is the gold standard
• wording of a question matters

Question 21

Behavioral observation

Answer 21

can occur in more controlled or more naturalistic settings

Question 22

What do standardized test date measure?

Answer 22

it measures performance

Question 23

Cultural biases in assessment

Answer 23

-measures developed for one group may not be reliable or valid for another group
- culture influences the meaning of behavior

Question 24

Diagnostic overshadowing?

Answer 24

the tendency to attribute your issues to a certain diagnosis while other factors are not considered