Comprehensive evaluation of current and past mental health in women

Ideally, studies of women's mental health would include a core data set that would be comparable across studies. There is general agreement that this data set should include a characterization of the clinical features of all current conditions and of past mental disorders and syndromes. The family history of mental disorders is also needed. Unfortunately, none of the currently available procedures covers all of the agreed on areas of interest, but with some supplementation, many are available to help approximate such a core data set. Greater content specificity is needed before efforts to develop new or modified procedures can be focused on such an effort.