VIDEOTAPED RELIABILITY IN A MULTICENTER COLLABORATIVE INVESTIGATION OF DIVALPROEX SODIUM FOR THE TREATMENT OF MANIA

This study describes the procedures used to establish videotaped inter -rater reliability in a multicenter study investigating the clinical e fficacy of divalproex sodium for the treatment of acute mania. A total of 46 raters from 10 centers viewed and rated five videotaped diagnos tic patient interviews using a modified SADS and SADS-C. Raters also v iewed a follow-up videotaped interview at the midpoint of the study. R aters rated the quality of each interview for its teaching potential. Agreement among raters within study sites was estimated by the intracl ass correlation coefficient. Results demonstrated significant agreemen t among raters within study centers at baseline and follow-up for both the SADS and SADS-C.