Standardized interviews in psychiatry.

Although they have a long history of use, standardized or structured interviews for the gathering of clinical data in psychiatry have become increasingly popular in the last 10 years. Some definitions of structured interviews and a brief historical review of their use are presented. In addition to enhancing the reliability of symptoms and diagnoses in research, there is evidence that structured interviews improve the comprehensiveness of the data base, and reduce examiner bias. Even in the routine clinical setting, completeness of data collection and accuracy of diagnosis would appear to outweigh potential disadvantages. The scope and limitations of instruments currently in common use (PSE and SADS), and the DIS, developed for epidemiological use by non-clinician interviewers in an extensive NIMH study, are reviewed. The importance of future developments in structured interview design derives from widespread recognition of the significance of precisely defined diagnostic criteria in research and practice.