Acceptance of structured diagnostic interviews for mental disorders in clinical practice and research settings

The objective of this study was to investigate the acceptance of structured diagnostic interviews in clinical practice, as well as research, settings. Using the Diagnostisches Interview bei Psychischen Störungen (the modified and extended German version of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV), 10 certified interviewers conducted 183 structured interviews in different inpatient, outpatient, and research settings in Switzerland and Germany. After each interview, patients and interviewers filled out a questionnaire asking for their evaluation of the interview. Patients' and interviewers' reactions to the interview were highly positive. On a scale measuring overall satisfaction with the interview (0=not at all satisfied, 100=totally satisfied) the mean patient rating was 86.55 (SD=13.18), and the mean interviewer rating was 85.82 (SD=12.84). The procedure used by the interviewer was rated by 142 (78.5%) patients as being helpful, and 176 (96.7%) rated the relationship as being positive. Less than 16% of the interviews were described as exhausting by the patients and interviewers. A majority of the interviewers (92.6%) indicated that during the interview they could respond adequately to the patient. The results of this study indicate that structured diagnostic interviews are highly accepted by interviewers and patients in a variety of settings. These findings, together with the existing evidence of the reliability and validity of structured interviews, should encourage their use in the diagnostic process, in outpatient and inpatient clinical settings as well as in research studies.