Abstract
The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) was used to evaluate 40 psychiatric referrals aged 7–11 and 40 pediatric referrals matched for age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. Each parent and child was interviewed separately using parallel versions of the interview, DISC-P and DISC-C, and parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The psychiatric referrals had more psychiatric diagnoses and higher symptom scores than the pediatric referrals. Parent reports discriminated better between the criterion groups than child reports. In both groups, mild oppositional behavior and fears were commonly reported by parents, whereas mild separation anxiety, fears, and dysthymia were commonly reported by children. Attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, and affective disorders were much more common among psychiatrically referred children. There was an association (x2=37.1, p < 001) between abnormally high CBCL scores and diagnoses derived from the interview with the parent, but the association between the CBCL and the child interview was not significant. Over all, the results support the validity of the DISC-P, and to a lesser extent that of the DISC-C, in discriminating psychiatric from pediatric referrals, at the level of both symptoms and severe diagnoses, but not at the mild/moderate level of diagnosis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. S. (1981). Behavioral problems and competencies reported by parents of normal and disturbed children aged 4–16.Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 46(1, Serial No. 88).
Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. S. (1983).Manual for the Revised Child Behavior Checklist and Profile. Burlington, Vermont: University Associates in Psychiatry.
American Psychiatric Association. (1980).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.
Barrios, B. A., Hartmann, D. P., & Shigetomi, C. (1981). Fears and anxieties in children. In E. J. Mash & L. G. Terdal (Eds.),Behavioral assessment of childhood disorders (pp. 259–304). New York: Guilford Press.
Costello, A. J., Edelbrock, C. S., Dulcan, M. K., & Kalas, R. (1984).Testing of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) in a clinical population (Contract No. DB-81-0027). Final report to the Center for Epidemiological Studies, National Institute for Mental Health. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.
Edelbrock, C., & Costello, A. J. (1984). Structured psychiatric interviews for children and adolescents. In G. R. Goldstein & M. Hersen (Eds.),Handbook of psychological assessment (276–290). London: Pergamon Press.
Edelbrock, C., Costello, A. J., Dulcan, M. K., Kalas, R., & Conover, N. C. (1985). Age differences in the reliability of the psychiatric interview of the child.Child Development, 56, 265–275.
Goldberg, I. D., Regier, D. A., McInerny, T. K., Pless, I. B., & Roghmann, K. J. (1979). The role of the pediatrician in the delivery of mental health services to children.Pediatrics, 63, 898–909.
Herjanic, B., & Campbell, W. (1977). Differentiating psychiatrically disturbed children on the basis of a structured interview.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 307–324.
Herjanic, B., Herjanic, M., Brown, F., & Wheatt, T. (1975). Are children reliable reporters?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 3, 41–48.
Herjanic, B., & Reich, W. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 307–324.
Hodges, K., Kline, J., Stern, L., Cytryn, L., & McKnew, D. (1982). The development of a child assessment instrument for research and clinical use.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 173–189.
Hodges, K., McKnew, D., Cytryn, L., Stern, L., & Kline, J. (1978). The Child Assessment Schedule (CAS) Diagnostic Interview: A report on reliability and validity.Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 7, 338–347.
Kovacs, M., Feinberg, T. L., Crouse-Novak, M. A., Paulauskas, S. L., & Finkelstein, R. (1984). Depressive disorders in childhood: I. A longitudinal prospective study of characteristics and recovery.Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 229–237.
Langner, T. S., Gersten, J. C., McCarthy, E. D., Eisenberg, J. G., Greene, E. L., & Jameson, J. D. (1976). A screening inventory for assessing psychiatric impairment in children 6–18.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44, 286–296.
Lapouse, R., & Monk, M. A. (1959). Fears and worries in a representative sample of children.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 29, 803–815.
Miller, L. C., Barrett, C. L., & Hampe, E. (1974). Phobias of childhood in a prescientific era. In A. Davids (Ed.),Child personality and psychopathology: Current topics (Vol. 1, pp. 89–134). New York: Wiley.
Puig-Antich, J., & Chambers, W. (1978).The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-aged children. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Reich, W., Herjanic, B., Welner, Z., & Gandhy, P. R. (1982). Development of a structured interview for children: Agreement on diagnosis comparing parent and child.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 325–336.
Robins, L. N., Helzer, J. E., Croughan, J. L., & Ratcliff, K. (1981). The NIMH Interview Schedule: Its history, characteristics and validity. In J. R. Wing, P. Bebbington, & L. N. Robins (Eds.), What is a case? (pp. 79–98). London: Grant McIntyre.
Rutter, M. (1981). Epidemiological/longitudinal strategies and causal research in child psychiatry.Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 20, 513–544.
Rutter, M., Shaffer, D., & Shepherd, M. (1975).A multiaxial classification of child psychiatric disorders. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Rutter, M., Tizard, J., & Whitmore, K. (1970).Education, health and behaviour. London: Longmans.
Schlesselman, J. J. (1982).Case control studies: Design, conduct, analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported in part by NIMH Clinical Research Center Grant No. MH30915 and by NIMH Contract No. RFP-DB-81-0027. The second author is supported by an NIMH Research Scientist Development Award No. MH00403 and by a Faculty Scholar's Award from the William T. Grant Foundation. The authors are most grateful to Noelle Conover for her assistance in data analysis.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Costello, E.J., Edelbrock, C.S. & Costello, A.J. Validity of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children: A comparison between psychiatric and pediatric referrals. J Abnorm Child Psychol 13, 579–595 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00923143
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00923143