IPDE - Extranet Systems - World Health Organization

55 Experiences with IPDE
passive aggressive PDs have been deleted, and this will shorten the IPDE
significantly.
What do you think about the validity of the information obtained by
IPDE (as compared to your clinical judgement)?
Most of the respondents reported that the validity of the IPDE was better
than clinical judgement. Some patient denials and replies seemed doubtful
to the examiners, and the IPDE does not allow clinical hunches. It
may also be difficult to get valid answers to questions concerning items
that are less socially desirable, e.g., the abuse of family members. The
instrument assumes that the patient will be open and honest, but a number
of patients with apparent personality abnormalities did not receive an
IPDE diagnosis. It was not clear whether these patients were deliberately
denying characteristics, or they had no insight into their own behaviour.
Do you think that the IPDE adequately coven information necessary
to assess PDs?
The overwhelming majority of the respondents believed that the IPDE
provided enough information to assess the PDs in DSM-III-R and ICD-10.
A smngth of the instrument is that it insures that all criteria are addressed.
There is a question whether some of the questions are sufficient to elicit the
necessary information. The impact of acute mental states may also be
problematic, and needs to be assessed by examining the relationship with
other mental disorders. To deal with this problem, the IPDE recommends
the use of an Axis I instrument prior to the IPDE. to provide the examiner
with the clinical information that is likely to enhance the reliability and
validity of the questioning, probing, and scoring process. When it is not
available from such an interview or from other sources, the IPDE examiner
must obtain the information requested on the first page of the IPDE
interview under the heading 'Background information'. Several respondents
explicitly stated that information from an informant or from other
sources was necessary for the diagnosis of PD.
What is your view of the IPDE interview on giving the interviewer a
sense of satisfaction of completion?
Most respondents reported that they had comprehensively probed all the
psychopathology of PDs. However, many also described a feeling of