Training raters to assess adult ADHD: reliability of ratings.
The standardization of ADHD ratings in adults is important given their differing symptom presentation. The authors investigated the agreement and reliability of rater standardization in a large-scale trial of atomoxetine in adults with ADHD. Training of 91 raters for the investigator-administered ADHD Rating Scale (ADHDRS-IV-Inv) occurred prior to initiation of a large, 31-site atomoxetine trial. Agreement between raters on total scores was established in two ways: (a) by Kappa coefficient (rater agreement for each item with the percentage of raters that had identical item-by-item scores) and (b) intraclass correlation coefficients (reliability). For the ADHDRS-IV-Inv, rater agreement was moderate, and reliability, as measured by Cronbach's alpha, was substantial. The data indicate that clinicians can be trained to reliably evaluate ADHD in adults using the ADHDRS-IV-Inv.
Adler
Lenard A
LA
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. lenard.adler@med.nyu.edu
Spencer
Thomas
T
Faraone
Stephen V
SV
Reimherr
Fred W
FW
Kelsey
Douglas
D
Michelson
David
D
Biederman
Joseph
J
D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*