title: Training raters to assess adult ADHD: reliability of ratings.
abstract: 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.
authors: New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. lenard.adler@med.nyu.edu
authors: Lenard A
authors: LA
authors: Adler
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Spencer
authors: Stephen V
authors: SV
authors: Faraone
authors: Fred W
authors: FW
authors: Reimherr
authors: Douglas
authors: D
authors: Kelsey
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Michelson
authors: Joseph
authors: J
authors: Biederman
mesh_terms: 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*