Normal controls are expensive to find: Methods to improve cost-effectiveness of the screening evaluation

The use of well controls: an unhealthy practice in psychiatric research

“…We do so because the use of well controls is a common, and often recommended, method to select controls (Adami et al 2002 ;Schechter & Levobitch, 2005 ;Talati et al 2008). We do so because the use of well controls is a common, and often recommended, method to select controls (Adami et al 2002 ;Schechter & Levobitch, 2005 ;Talati et al 2008).…”

Quality of life of ‘normal’ controls: Association with lifetime history of mental illness

“…A description of the recruitment and assessment procedures for the CRP is included in this report. Additional information about this program can be found in previous reports (Schechter et al, 1994(Schechter et al, , 1998Schechter and Lebovitch, 2005). The protocol was begun after IRB approval was obtained.…”

Guidelines for Reporting Articles on Psychiatry and Heart rate variability (GRAPH): recommendations to advance research communication

“…Many studies recruit ‘hypernormal' controls (also referred to as ‘well' controls) who are not representative of the general population. 70 , 71 Although it is ideal to recruit participants from the same sampled population as the clinical group, this may not always be possible or practical because of cost and time considerations (but see Schechter and Lebovitch 72 ). Specific information about where control groups were selected from can provide a more accurate assessment of whether differences between groups may be exaggerated by potential control group population biases (for example, socioeconomic status and race).…”