Reliability, validity, and classification accuracy of a measure of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to measure the reliability, validity, and classification accuracy of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling.


METHODS
Participants in this study were drawn from two sources: 803 men and women from the general adult population of Minnesota and 259 men and women who were admitted to a gambling treatment program. A 19-item measure of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling was administered, along with other validity measures.


RESULTS
The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were found to be reliable and valid. With a standard cutoff score of 5, DSM-IV criteria yielded satisfactory classification accuracy results; however, a cutoff score of 4 made modest improvements in classification accuracy and, most important, reduced the rate of false negatives.


CONCLUSIONS
The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling, when operationalized into questions, demonstrated satisfactory reliability, validity, and classification accuracy, and a cutoff score of 4 improved diagnostic precision.
Stinchfield
Randy
R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, 689 Fairmount Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105, USA. randy.d.stinchfield-1@tc.umn.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016896:Treatment Outcome