The interactive computer interview for mania.
OBJECTIVE
The Interactive Computer Interview for Mania (ICI-M) is a computer-administered interview that presents probes to assess symptom severity and utilizes a scoring algorithm to select follow-up questions and rate subject responses in accordance with rating scale anchor points. The current study examines the acceptability, feasibility, and reliability of the ICI-M as a potential method for evaluating the performance of human raters.


METHODS
Participants with a diagnosis of bipolar I or II disorder completed both a live interview of the Young Mania Rating Scale with a human rater (LR) and the ICI-M. A panel of three expert raters reviewed each videotaped LR and assigned a consensus rating (CR). Participants completed a modified version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire to assess each method.


RESULTS
Intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.91 between the ICI-M and CR and 0.97 between the LR and CR (n = 100), providing empirical support for the inter-rater reliability of each approach. Coefficient alphas indicated comparable internal consistency reliability: ICI-M = 0.82, LR = 0.83, and CR = 0.84. The ICI-M was significantly more sensitive in detecting symptomatology than the LR (p < 0.001) and the CR (p < 0.001), and resulted in significantly higher ratings than CR on mood, speech, psychotic content, and disruptive-aggressive behavior. While participants endorsed significantly higher overall satisfaction with LR, no significant differences emerged between ICI-M and LR regarding willingness to participate again or ability to understand the questions.


CONCLUSIONS
The ICI-M is a well-accepted and reliable method for assessing manic symptoms. The ICI-M is a tool with adequate sensitivity to elicit symptoms and rate severity and is recommended as a tool to monitor and improve rater performance, not as a replacement of a human rater.
Reilly-Harrington
Noreen A
NA
Concordant Rater Systems, Boston, MA, USA. nhreilly@partners.org
DeBonis
Daniel
D
Leon
Andrew C
AC
Sylvia
Louisa
L
Perlis
Roy
R
Lewis
Daniel
D
Sachs
Gary S
GS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult