Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Survey of Mental Disorders, Wave I (Household), 1980-1985: [United States]

The Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) program of researchwas initiated in response to the 1977 report of the President'sCommission on Mental Health. The purpose was to collect data on theprevalence and incidence of mental disorders and on the use of andneed for services by the mentally ill. The ECA Survey is thelargest and most comprehensive survey of mental disorders everconducted in the United States. The scope and complexity of thesurvey design were made possible because of the confluence of therecent standardization of psychiatric diagnostic criteria and theavailability of advanced computer data processingsystems. Independent research teams at five universities (Yale,Johns Hopkins, Washington University, Duke University, andUniversity of California at Los Angeles), in collaboration withNIMH, conducted the studies with a core of common questions andsample characteristics. The sites were areas that had previouslybeen designated as Community Mental Health Center catchment areas(New Haven, CN, Baltimore, MD, St. Louis, MO, Durham, NC, and LosAngeles, CA). The ECA encompassed a Household Survey and anInstitutional Survey at each site, with two waves of personalinterviews administered one year apart and a brief telephone interviewin between. The structured psychiatric diagnostic interview used inthe ECA was the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), versionIII (with the exception of the Yale Wave I survey, which usedversion II). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,3rd edition (DSM-III) diagnoses derived from the DIS include manicepisode, major depressive episode, dysthymia, bipolar disorder,alcohol abuse or dependence, drug abuse or dependence,schizophrenia, schizophreniform, obsessive compulsive disorder,phobia, somatization, panic, antisocial personality, and anorexianervosa. The DIS elicits diagnoses across the respondent's fulllife span and also indicates when symptoms appeared during the lastyear (within last two weeks, last month, last six months, and lastfull year). The DIS uses the Mini-Mental State Examination toscreen, when respondents appear confused, for cognitive impairmentand inability to complete the interview, and continuation by aproxy interview.