Ford and Widiger: Biases held by health professional can affect the diagnoses they make - which can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis. 3 main biases: gender; race; social class.
Aim: Ford and Widiger investigated whether clinicans were stereotyping genders in diagnosing disorders.
M&P: Clinical psychologists asked to read case studies and provide a clinical diagnosis based on the info presented. 3 case studies:
Case study 1 = Outline symptoms of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) which include recklessness; impulsiveness; and failure to conform to social norms. Case study 2 = Outlined symptoms of historic personality disorder (HPD) which include emotional behaviour and a need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness. Case study 3 = Described some symptoms of ASPD and HPD
Results: Case studies of HPD were correctly diagnosed when patient was female (96% of the time) and results similar when patient was male and diagnosed with ASPD. If case involved ASPD in a female then they were misdiagnosed with HPD 46& of the time. Also case of mixed symptoms was more likely to be diagnosed as a case of HPD than ASPD if it was a female patient.
Conclusion: Psychologists did show gender biases in their diagnosis - being female increased the chances of being diagnosed with HPD.
Comments
Report