PDQ-Computer Assisted

How are you currently assessing personality disorders in your patients/subjects?

Are you using one of the structured interviews?
Are you using a self-report questionnaire?
Are you concerned about missed questions?
Are you conducting "free form" clinical interviews?
Are you concerned about the consistency of these interviews?
How much time and effort are you expending?

The PDQ-4 follows the PDQ, and the PDQ-R, and is the latest in a series of self-report questionnaires that generate personality diagnoses consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (now DSM-IV). The PDQ-4 (CA) follows upon the success of the PDQ-R (CA) that set a new standard for ease of use. All the feedback that we have received about the PDQ-R (CA) has helped to make the PDQ-4 (CA) the most complete and user-friendly of any available computer assisted personality diagnosis program. The PDQ-R (CA) has been field-tested on hundreds of patients and has been found to be easy to use even by individuals who have substantial psychiatric impairment and no computer experience.

The PDQ-4 (CA) is available immediately for DOS/Windows based PC's. It may be used in two different ways. Computer Administration of the questionnaire allows the patient/subject to answer questions displayed on the monitor of the computer and then tabulates the results automatically. Computer Scoring, for those who continue to use the paper and pencil version of the PDQ-4 questionnaire, permits easy entry of the responses into the program, which tabulates and scores the items, and then stores the results in a file accessible for SPSS or spreadsheet analysis.

The program generates a report that presents demographic information as well as a comprehensive personality diagnostic summary including: total PDQ-4 score; specific personality diagnoses; scores on validity scales; as well as listing the items that were scored as pathological for disorders that exceed the DSM-IV threshold. The results are saved in a text format that can either be accessed directly, or reformatted by most word processing programs. In addition, the program generates a graphical representation of the results. The text (and with most printers, the graphs too) may be printed out for a hard copy. New for the PDQ-4 is the Clinical Significance Scale, which was designed to completely evaluate all relevant parameters affecting the validity of the responses. This should greatly minimize the number of false positive responses. For each diagnosis over threshold, the patient/subject is asked about: the duration of the traits, the presence of comorbid Axis I symptoms, and the degree of objective impairment or subjective distress caused by the traits.

The cost of the PDQ-4 (CA) is $125.00 for individual clinicians, or $250.00 for use by institutions, e.g., clinics, hospitals or for grant supported research. This compares to other computer administered personality questionnaires which range from $300.00 to over $600.00 in price. Please note that where other computer administered personality questionnaires limit the number of administrations for the initial purchase price, the PDQ-4 (CA) permits an unlimited number of administrations of the program. Postage and handling are an additional $10.00; NYS residents must include sales tax.

To order, call : 1-800-424-9537

or write to: NiJo Software, Box 126-H, Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583-8626.

If you are interested in downloading a demonstration version of the computerized PDQ4 or would like to download a copy of the paper and pencil questionnaire

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