Special Section
Criterion Validity of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 2.3 (DISC-2.3)

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ABSTRACT

Objective

To examine the criterion validity of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) Version 2.3 in the NIMH Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study, using a design that permitted several comparisons of DISC-generated diagnoses with diagnoses based on clinician symptom ratings.

Method

Two hundred forty-seven youths were selected from the 1,285 parent–youth pairs that constituted the four-site MECA sample. Subjects who screened positive for any of the five diagnostic areas under investigation in the validity study (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, depressive disorder, and the major anxiety disorders) were recruited, as well as a comparable number of screen negatives. Clinicians reinterviewed separately both the youth and the primary caregiver using the DISC followed by a clinical-style interview, and then they rated the presence of symptoms and impairment. Computer algorithms combined this information into diagnoses using comparable rules for both DISC and clinical rating diagnoses.

Results

In general, the DISC showed moderate to good validity across a number of diagnoses.

Conclusions

Results suggest some specific diagnostic areas in which further revision of the DISC is warranted. Three main sources of variability in DISC–clinician diagnostic agreement were evident over and above that due to the instrument itself, including (1) the informant used, (2) the algorithm applied in synthesizing symptom reports, and (3) the design of the validity comparison.

Key Words

Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children
diagnosis
validity
epidemiology
assessment

Cited by (0)

The authors gratefully acknowledge the extensive efforts of Beverly Crowther, M.Ed., in preparing the manuscript and of Louis P. Florio, M.S., in conducting the analyses.