Psychometry as an adjunct to psychiatry: An Indian perspective

Abstract

The domain of psychometric testing involves the measurement of psychological constructs utilising a variety of instruments like schedules and inventories. The role of psychometric tests in psychiatric clinical practice ranges from clarifying differential diagnosis to documenting baseline deficits for evaluating improvement. Many psychometric tests are in vogue and can be simply classified into tests of intelligence, personality tests, neuropsychological tests and others. The present work takes a look at the commonly used psychometric tests to assess various domains of psychological functioning, focusing on those tests that have been developed or validated in India. The Division of Clinical Psychology of the Department of Psychiatry at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (PGIMER), has been the frontrunner in the development and validation of psychometric tests, which have much applicability in the Indian scenario. The write-up also discusses the challenges faced by the overall validity and reliability of psychometric tests themselves and tries to find answers to the question of when to use these tests and how to interpret them in the clinical context. This chapter emphasises that correct tests when used as an adjunct to a rigorous clinical interview can be of immense benefit in the management of the patients.