Premium
Phobic disorders in the elderly: A comparison of three diagnostic systems
Author(s) -
Lindesay James,
Banerjee Sube
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930080504
Subject(s) - operationalization , psychology , sample (material) , variation (astronomy) , psychiatry , gerontology , medicine , philosophy , physics , epistemology , astrophysics , chemistry , chromatography
The case‐finding performances of three operationalized systems for identifying phobic disorder in the elderly (Geriatric Mental State (A) (GMSA)/AGECAT; DSM‐III; Phobic Disorders screen (PDS)) were compared in a sample of clients of a local authority community care service. There was considerable variation in the 1‐month prevalence rates (3.6%‐25.6%) according to the different criteria, and the concordances between various levels of case definition in the diagnostic systems demonstrated that this variation was due principally to different hierarchical diagnostic rules and severity criteria, including differing assumptions and expectations as to what constitutes a phobic disorder in old age.