Interrater Reliability of the Fitness Interview Test across 4 Professional Groups

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the interrater reliability of the Fitness Interview Test (FIT), revised edition, a semistructured interview that assesses fitness to stand trial. Method: Physicians, forensic psychologists, nurses, and graduate students in psychology were trained in the FIT, and they subsequently viewed 2 videotaped interviews of actual fitness assessments. Using the FIT, they rated the fitness of each defendant portrayed in the videotapes. Results: For overall judgment of fitness, the average intraclass correlation based on the full samples of raters was found to be 0.98, and for most items on the FIT, intraclass correlations fell within the 0.80s and 0.90s. Reliability estimates were high across professional groups. Conclusions: Overall, this study provides further support for the psychometric properties of the FIT, as well as for the ability of various professionals to conduct reliable fitness assessments using the FIT.