Computer prediction of psychotropic drug assignment in state mental facilities: effect of eliminating alcoholics from the study sample
Altman, H.; Evenson, R.C.; Sletten, I.W.; Cho, D.W.
Diseases of the Nervous System 35(11): 505-508
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-3714 PMID: 17896458 Document Number: 76871
A previous study on assignment of four major categories of psychotropic drugs to psychiatric inpatients generated the hypothesis that patients assigned minor tranquilizers consisted of two distinct sub-groups, one of which consisted of diagnosed alcoholics. The present study confirmed that hypothesis. More importantly, it found that minor tranquilizer assignment to non-alcoholic inpatients was a virtually random procedure. The general ability of predicting psychotropic drug assignment via a statistical model was nevertheless supported.