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The February 2001 issue of ARCHIVES carries a report on the use of the Bonn Scale for the Assessment of Basic Symptoms (BSABS), a screening measure for the early detection of schizophrenia.¹ In this sample of nonpsychotic outpatients, of those who reported at least one prodromal symptom on the BSABS, 70% subsequently developed the illness. The instrument seems to have a better positive predictive value than other measures of prodromal states² and a relatively low false-positive rate (specificity = 0.59). Because the false-negative rate of the instrument is low (sensitivity = 0.98), the researchers conclude that the measure "seems applicable to a broad identification of at-risk persons in the general population."465^(p163)

How useful, in fact, will such a measure be in screening the general population? In the clinic sample tested, nearly half of the subjects developed schizophrenia. The predictive capacity of such an instrument changes dramatically, however, when it . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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