An Internet version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV): correspondence of the ADHD section with the paper-and-pencil version

Abstract

The authors recently developed an Internet version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Version 4 (DISC-IV), parent version (D. Shaffer, P. Fisher, C. P. Lucas, M. K. Dulcan, & M. E. Schwab-Stone, 2000), with the main purpose of using it at home without an interviewer. This offers many advantages (e.g., extended applicability, fast communication, reduction of costs) but requires thorough study of correspondence between diagnostic outcomes of the interview and self-administered Internet versions. This is the 1st study to report on Internet administration of the DISC-IV. Using the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) section, the authors investigated whether the 2 versions yielded the same diagnostic outcome. Parents (N = 120) of patients visiting a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic were randomly divided into 4 groups, each completing 1 test and about 2 weeks later another according to 1 of these patterns: Internet-interview, interview-Internet, interview-interview, and Internet-Internet. Correspondence between the Internet and interview versions at the level of symptom scores was excellent, and correspondence with respect to the presence/absence of ADHD was good. Although highly comparable diagnostic outcomes between self-administration through the Internet and interviewer administration were found, further study using other DISC-IV modules is required.