A Comparison of DSM-II and DSM-III in the Diagnosis of Childhood Psychiatric Disorders: II. Interrater Agreement

Richard Mattison, Dennis P. Cantwell, Andrew T. Russell, Lois Will

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

64 Scopus citations

Abstract

A case-history format was utilized to compare interrater agreement on childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders, using DSM-II and DSM-III. The average interrater agreement was 57% for DSM-II and 54% for axis I (clinical psychiatric syndrome) of DSM-III. There was high agreement in both systems on cases of psychosis, conduct disorder, hyperactivity, and mental retardation, with DSM-III appearing slightly better. There was noteworthy interrater disagreement in both systems for “anxiety,” disorders, complex cases, and in the subtyping of depression. Overall, the reliability of DSM-III appears to be good and is comparable with that of DSM-II and other classification systems of childhood psychiatric disorders.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1217-1222
Number of pages6
JournalArchives of General Psychiatry
Volume36
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1979

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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