Japanese psychology students as psychiatric diagnosticians: Application of criteria of mood and anxiety disorders to written case vignettes using the RDC and DSM-IV

It is commonly believed in Japan that only psychiatrists are capable of providing reliable psychiatric diagnosis. The present study, therefore, examined using a case vignette design, how well Japanese psychology students agreed with a psychiatrist on the diagnoses of mood disorders (major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder) and anxiety disorders (panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder). The results suggest that appropriately trained Japanese psychology students can apply reliably the diagnostic criteria for these disorders, except for generalized anxiety disorder. It appeared that the students did not identify symptoms of restlessness and nervous tension, which may explain the relatively low reliability of the diagnosis for generalized anxiety disorder. The cross-cultural variation in the experience of anxiety is suggested as an explanation. The present study argues that it is feasible that Japanese nonmedical mental health professionals become familiar with the psychiatric diagnoses.