Computer Simulation and Comparison of Specific Diagnostic Concepts for Schizophrenia and Depression.

Criteria for establishing a diagnosis of schizophrenia and depression have been proposed by several different authors. With the aid of a computer this study compares seven different research criteria for schizophrenia and six different research criteria for depression in a series of 150 patients receiving an initial diagnostic interview. Computer scoring simulation ranges from “checklist fashion”, to detailed actuarial scoring, to cluster analysis and related methods of numerial taxonomy resulting in various distinct profile patterns. The alternative criteria differed in the proportion of clinical diagnoses that were confirmed. The criteria also disagreed concerning which particular patients qualified for the diagnosis. The criteria differed in the proportion of false positive and false negative errors.