The Diagnostic Interview Schedule and DSM-III Antisocial Personality Disorder

This study compares the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) diagnosis of DSM-III antisocial personality disorder (ASP) with three criterion methods. The DIS is found to be highly sensitive but only moderately specific in comparison with a clinical interview employing the same criteria, follow-up data on antisocial symptoms, and a procedure that employs all methods. The clinical interview predicted future antisocial symptoms better than the DIS. Furthermore, estimates of the predictive value of the DIS for use in epidemiological research suggest that it is useful when the prime concern is to exclude potential ASP cases (i.e., obtain a pure, non-antisocial sample); it is of more limited usefulness for obtaining a sample of definite, current ASP cases. Possible reasons for this are discussed.