The reliability of retrospective treatment reports

High levels of agreement are reported for retrospective assessment of treatment history using the Longitudinal Interval Followup Evaluation Baseline (LIFE Base), a recently developed structured psychiatric interview, in a sample of 47 subjects with a moderate to severe affective disorder. In a paired rater/observer design with interviews conducted at five different research centers, most coefficients of reliability (Kappa) were above 0.91. This is the first published reliability study of treatment data and should be encouraging to practitioners and researchers. Future research aimed at assessing the validity of treatment information obtained from patient records and clinical interviews is recommended.