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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Feb;50(3):515-522.
doi: 10.1017/S0033291719000394. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Using life history calendars to improve measurement of lifetime experience with mental disorders

William G Axinn  1 , Stephanie Chardoul  1 , Heather Gatny  1 , Dirgha J Ghimire  1 , Jordan W Smoller  2   3 , Yang Zhang  1 , Kate M Scott  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Using life history calendars to improve measurement of lifetime experience with mental disorders

William G Axinn et al. Psychol Med. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Retrospective reports of lifetime experience with mental disorders greatly underestimate the actual experiences of disorder because recall error biases reporting of earlier life symptoms downward. This fundamental obstacle to accurate reporting has many adverse consequences for the study and treatment of mental disorders. Better tools for accurate retrospective reporting of mental disorder symptoms have the potential for broad scientific benefits.

Methods: We designed a life history calendar (LHC) to support this task, and randomized more than 1000 individuals to each arm of a retrospective diagnostic interview with and without the LHC. We also conducted a careful validation with the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition.

Results: Results demonstrate that-just as with frequent measurement longitudinal studies-use of an LHC in retrospective measurement can more than double reports of lifetime experience of some mental disorders.

Conclusions: The LHC significantly improves retrospective reporting of mental disorders. This tool is practical for application in both large cross-sectional surveys of the general population and clinical intake of new patients.

Keywords: CIDI; Life History Calendar; disorder under-reporting; lifetime prevalence; recall; retrospective reporting.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest:

Dr. Ghimire is also the Director of the Institute for Social and Environmental Research in Nepal (ISER-N) that collected the data for the research reported here. Dr. Ghimire’s conflict of interest management plan is approved and monitored by the Regents of the University of Michigan.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Percent screening positive and meeting lifetime criteria for depression, with and without use of the Life History Calendar, by birth cohort
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Axinn WG, Barber JS, Ghimire DJ (1997). The Neighborhood History Calendar: A Data Collection Method Designed for Dynamic Multilevel Modeling. Sociological Methodology 27, 355–392. - PubMed
    1. Axinn WG, Ghimire D, Williams NE (2012). Collecting Survey Data during Armed Conflict. Journal of Official Statistics 28, 153–171. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Axinn WG, Ghimire DJ, Williams NE, Scott KM (2013). Gender, Traumatic Events and Mental Health Disorders in a Rural Asian Setting. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 54, 444–461. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Axinn WG, Ghimire DJ, Williams NE, Scott KM (2015). Associations between the social organization of communities and psychiatric disorders in rural Asia. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology 50, 1537–1545. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Axinn WG, Pearce LD (2006). Mixed Method Data Collection Strategies. Cambridge University Press: New York, NY.

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