The Problem of Multiple Inference in Psychiatric Research

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Abstract
This paper deals with the problem of multiple inference in psychiatric research, an issue which arises whenever a researcher has to make more than one statistical inference in a single research study. It frequently arises in psychiatric research because of multivariate study designs, with subjects being measured on more than one dependent variable with the intention of studying differences between groups in mean scores. The disadvantages of the commonly adopted strategy of using multiple univariate tests (e.g. multiple t-tests) are outlined. Two broad strategies — Bonferroni-adjusted univariate tests and multivariate statistical analysis — are introduced. Their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in terms of their usefulness in confirmatory and exploratory research in psychiatry.