Nowadays, the clinical forensic medical management of migration flows comprises the age assessment of unaccompanied minors. The process of age estimation is a fundamental pillar for legally ensuring the minors’ rights and their protection needs. The procedure is complex and involves different phases and actors, from medical doctors to law enforcement officers. The present study aimed to investigate the performance of Greulich and Pyle, Demirjian, and Mincer methods when performed by raters both trained and without training. Also, the interrater reliability within groups of raters from different areas of expertise was evaluated. A total of 36 participants were enrolled for this study, divided in two groups according to their level of experience with age estimation methods. Each rater was asked to allocate stages and standards for age assessment, evaluating ten orthopantomograms and ten hand-wrist roentgenograms. The interrater reliability expressed through the Fleiss Kappa coefficient and the agreement with the reference standard were calculated. The results showed that none of the categories analyzed could reach a good interrater reliability (ĸ > 0.8) for both methods. The study results highlighted variation and disagreement in the interpretation of the sample among raters and in the subsequent stages and standards allocation. In conclusion, the results of this study highlight that expertise does influence the reliability of the most utilized methods of age estimation of living individuals and stress the importance of proper training and practice, which could greatly increase the accuracy of age assessments.

Analysis of interrater reliability in age assessment of minors: how does expertise influence the evaluation? / L. Franceschetti, V.G. Merelli, S. Corona, F. Magli, L. Maggioni, M. Cummaudo, S. Tritella, D. De Angelis, C. Cattaneo. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL MEDICINE. - ISSN 0937-9827. - (2021), pp. 1-7. [Epub ahead of print] [10.1007/s00414-021-02707-8]

Analysis of interrater reliability in age assessment of minors: how does expertise influence the evaluation?

L. Franceschetti
Primo
;
V.G. Merelli
Secondo
;
S. Corona;L. Maggioni;M. Cummaudo;S. Tritella;D. De Angelis
Penultimo
;
C. Cattaneo
Ultimo
2021

Abstract

Nowadays, the clinical forensic medical management of migration flows comprises the age assessment of unaccompanied minors. The process of age estimation is a fundamental pillar for legally ensuring the minors’ rights and their protection needs. The procedure is complex and involves different phases and actors, from medical doctors to law enforcement officers. The present study aimed to investigate the performance of Greulich and Pyle, Demirjian, and Mincer methods when performed by raters both trained and without training. Also, the interrater reliability within groups of raters from different areas of expertise was evaluated. A total of 36 participants were enrolled for this study, divided in two groups according to their level of experience with age estimation methods. Each rater was asked to allocate stages and standards for age assessment, evaluating ten orthopantomograms and ten hand-wrist roentgenograms. The interrater reliability expressed through the Fleiss Kappa coefficient and the agreement with the reference standard were calculated. The results showed that none of the categories analyzed could reach a good interrater reliability (ĸ > 0.8) for both methods. The study results highlighted variation and disagreement in the interpretation of the sample among raters and in the subsequent stages and standards allocation. In conclusion, the results of this study highlight that expertise does influence the reliability of the most utilized methods of age estimation of living individuals and stress the importance of proper training and practice, which could greatly increase the accuracy of age assessments.
Age assessment; Clinical forensic medicine; Forensic anthropology; Interrater reliability; Unaccompanied minors;
Settore MED/43 - Medicina Legale
2021
30-set-2021
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Franceschetti2021_Article_AnalysisOfInterraterReliabilit.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 758.03 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
758.03 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/900792
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 1
  • Scopus 6
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 6
social impact