Reliability of the PSE (ninth edition) used in a population study

A random sample of 237 women in a south-east London area were seen by non-medical interviewers, trained to use a standard technique (the Present State Examination) to elicit and record psychiatric symptoms. Ninety-five were interviewed a second time by psychiatrists, who also rated audiotape recordi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine 1977-08, Vol.7 (3), p.505-516
Main Authors: Wing, J. K., Nixon, J. M., Mann, S. A., Leff, J. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Female
Humans
Interview, Psychological - methods
London
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Middle Aged
Population Surveillance
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Summary:A random sample of 237 women in a south-east London area were seen by non-medical interviewers, trained to use a standard technique (the Present State Examination) to elicit and record psychiatric symptoms. Ninety-five were interviewed a second time by psychiatrists, who also rated audiotape recordings. The reproducibility of the techniques is adequate though not as high, in some respects, as that obtained from out-patient or in-patient samples. This is true at the level of symptom, syndrome, total score, and index of definition of psychiatric disorder. It is concluded that nonmedical interviewers can obtain as high reproducibility as psychiatrists on most of the non-psychotic sections of the PSE if they have appropriate training. Repeatability is lower than reproducibility, partly due to fluctuations in clinical condition, partly to environmental changes between interviews, and partly to differential responses to medical and non-medical interviewers. Over a short period of time, such as a week, repeatability is satisfactory.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291700004487