Application of Research Diagnostic Criteria and International Classification of Diseases to case vignettes.

Thirty-one case vignettes prepared by the New York State Psychiatric Institute for the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) reliability training were read and independently rated by four Japanese psychiatrists using the RDC and the ICD-9. The psychiatrists obtained the same interrater reliability with both systems for the diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, manic type, and major depressive disorder. Reliability was initially low for the RDC diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder, depressed type, and schizotypal features, but an eventual agreement was reached, concordant with the opinion of the New York experts. Case vignette training may enable non-English-speaking psychiatrists to handle the RDC as effectively as the ICD-9.