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Validity of the SCID in substance abuse patients
Author(s) -
KRANZLER HENRY R.,
KADDEN RONALD M.,
BABOR THOMAS F.,
TENNEN HOWARD,
ROUNSAVILLE BRUCE J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1996.91685911.x
Subject(s) - medical diagnosis , substance abuse , psychiatry , discriminant validity , clinical psychology , psychology , anxiety , technician , personality disorders , construct validity , validity , psychometrics , medicine , personality , social psychology , pathology , electrical engineering , internal consistency , engineering
Structured or semi‐structured interviews, including the Structured Clinical Interview far DSM‐III‐R (SCID), are used widely to maximize the reliability and validity of psychiatric diagnoses. Although the reliability of such interviews appears adequate, there has been little effort to evaluate their validity. In a sample of 100 substance abuse patients, we evaluated the concurrent, discriminant and predictive validity of SCID substance use diagnoses, as well as co‐morbid disorders that occur commonly among these patients. The validity of current and life‐time substance use diagnoses obtained by a research technician using the SCID was good; it was moderate for antisocial personality disorder and major depression and poor for anxiety disorders. Although accurate diagnosis of substance use disorders in substance abuse patients can be accomplished by a research technician, the diagnosis of co‐morbid psychiatric disorders requires either additional expertise or the use of a diagnostic instrument specially designed for that purpose.