ISSN:
1433-9285
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary The paper describes the reliability study conducted on the Italian version of the 9th edition of the “Present State Examination” (PSE-9). Thirty consecutive patients were included in the study. They were drawn from those who contacted the South-Verona Community Psychiatric Service. Each patient was first assessed independently by two psychiatrists, one of whom conducted the interview, while the other assumed the role of observer. Four to nine days later, each patient was interviewed again by a third rater, who made an independent assessment, blind to the results of the first interview. Several statistical indices of reliability were calculated for the interviewer/observer and interviewer/reinterviewer comparisons. The interview showed an overall good reliability and repeatability. No significant differences were found in the agreement between behavioural and non behavioural items, nor did psychotic patients give rise to higher disagreement than non psychotic ones. The cut-off procedure and the items in the cut-off sections appeared to be highly reliable. None of the raters was found to have a detectable bias in rating patients. In authors' opinion, various reasons account for the good results obtained in this study: among them the common clinical background shared by the raters and the accuracy of the translation. Nevertheless, the study identified some drawbacks of the Italian version, and important information was obtained for its further improvement.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01788439
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