Reliability of anxiety assessment. I. Diagnostic agreement

• Published in: Archives of general psychiatry Vol. 46; no. 12; p. 1093
• Main Authors: Mannuzza, S, Fyer, A J, Martin, L Y, Gallops, M S, Endicott, J, Gorman, J, Liebowitz, M R, Klein, D F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.12.1989
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Agoraphobia - classification; Agoraphobia - diagnosis; Agoraphobia - psychology; Ambulatory Care; Anxiety Disorders - classification; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - classification; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; Panic; Phobic Disorders - classification; Phobic Disorders - diagnosis; Phobic Disorders - psychology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychometrics
• ISSN: 0003-990X; 1538-3636
• DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810120035007

Test-retest reliability of lifetime anxiety disorder diagnoses was determined using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Anxiety version. The subjects were 104 patients at an anxiety research clinic. Reliability ranged from good to excellent (kappa = +.60 to +.90) for generalized anxiety, social phobic, panic, agoraphobic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Simple phobia showed poor agreement. Current episodes showed better agreement than past episodes, particularly for social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Major sources of disagreement (variance in subject report, rate error, criterion ambiguity) were reviewed for each diagnosis and implications for DSM-IV are proposed.