Open AccessUsing life history calendars to improve measurement of lifetime experience with mental disorders
Author(s) -
William G. Axinn,
Stephanie Chardoul,
Heather Gatny,
Dirgha J. Ghimire,
Jordan W. Smoller,
Yang Zhang,
Kate M. Scott
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
psychological medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.857
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1469-8978
pISSN - 0033-2917
DOI - 10.1017/s0033291719000394
Subject(s) - retrospective cohort study , recall , medicine , psychiatry , population , recall bias , psychology , clinical psychology , surgery , cognitive psychology , environmental health , pathology
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.