title: The reliability of the family history method for psychiatric diagnoses.
abstract: We evaluated the test-retest interrater reliability of the Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria (FH-RDC) in 58 depressed patients who described 341 first-degree relatives. Reliability was examined as a function of the threshold to determine caseness. In general, diagnostic reliability was good-excellent for specific FH-RDC disorders, but not for the residual category of other psychiatric disorder. A higher diagnostic threshold was associated with greater reliability, especially for the diagnosis of depression. Patient variance accounted for a greater percentage of the disagreements between the interviewers than did rater variance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Coryell
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pfohl
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stangl
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D005190:Family; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity