Consistency in diagnoses for a sample of adolescents at a private psychiatric hospital

The consistency of psychiatric, psychological, and discharge diagnoses for a sample of 97 adolescent inpatients at a private psychiatric and substance abuse hospital in the Mid-South was investigated. Percentage agreement between the initial evaluations, psychological evaluations, and the exit evaluations ranged from 61.7% to 81.6%. Agreement, however, varied by diagnosis. The findings revealed relatively strong interrater agreement from the psychiatric diagnosis to the discharge evaluation for depression, but interrater agreement for the nondepression diagnoses was highly inconsistent. Assessment specialists and persons who work with at-risk adolescents are encouraged to evaluate carefully the consistency of diagnostic decisions on adolescents with whom they work.