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The Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation: A Comprehensive Method for Assessing Outcome in Prospective Longitudinal Studies
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation: A Comprehensive Method for Assessing Outcome in Prospective Longitudinal Studies

Martin B Keller, Philip W Lavori, Barbara Friedman, Eileen Nielsen, Jean Endicott, Pat McDonald-Scott and Nancy C Andreasen
Archives of general psychiatry, Vol.44(6), pp.540-548
06/01/1987
DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800180050009
PMID: 3579500

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Abstract

• The Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation (LIFE) is an integrated system for assessing the longitudinal course of psychiatric disorders. It consists of a semistructured interview, an instruction booklet, a coding sheet, and a set of training materials. An interviewer uses the LIFE to collect detailed psychosocial, psychopathologic, and treatment information for a six-month follow-up interval. The weekly psychopathology measures ("psychiatric status ratings") are ordinal symptom-based scales with categories defined to match the levels of symptoms used in the Research Diagnostic Criteria. The ratings provide a separate, concurrent record of the course of each disorder initially diagnosed in patients or developing during the follow-up. Any DSM-III or Research Diagnostic Criteria disorder can be rated with the LIFE, and any length or number of follow-up intervals can be accommodated. The psychosocial and treatment information is recorded so that these data can be linked temporally to the psychiatric status ratings.

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