Psychiatry diagnostic thresholds oscillate to avoid over or under diagnosis
The threshold for diagnosing mental disorders are somewhat arbitrary and can be adjusted. With a more demanding threshold, we would miss some of the sick who are in need of diagnosis, but would avoid mislabeling fewer normal people. You canât help side one without hurting the other. There is an inevitable trade-off between them that requires a proper balancing of the risks and benefits of overdiagnosis versus underdiagnosis. The final decision where to set the bar is always a judgment call; the research never renders a clear and compelling answer forcing the choice of one particular threshold in preference to other possibilities.
References
- Frances, Allen. (2013). Saving Normal CHAPTER 1. Whatâs Normal and Whatâs Not? (p. 44). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
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Type:đ´ Tags: Psychiatry Status:âď¸