The Predictive Value of the Brief Psychiatric Interview

The validity of predictions based upon the brief psychiatric interview has often been challenged. The present study reports 944 cases of naval personnel interviewed because of suspected neuropsychiatric symptomatology. On the basis of a brief psychiatric interview, these cases were separated into 3 classes—mild symptoms, treatment not indicated; moderate symptoms, shore duty indicated; and severe symptoms, hospitalization indicated. The subsequent naval careers of these 944 men were studied for one year. The neuropsychiatric discharge rates for the 3 groups during that year were in accord with the original prediction. The "mild" group lost 6.5% for neuropsychiatric reasons, the "moderate" group 20.2%, the "severe" group 89.7%. These data demonstrate the validity of the brief interview as a classificatory procedure.