Concurrent Validity of the Computer-assisted Structured Diagnostic Interview (CASDI) for Children and Adolescents Aged 8-18 Years Old

Abstract

Background:Making a diagnosis of a particular mental disorder in children and adolescents can be a challenging or overwhelming task for clinicians and researchers, with each step of a DSM-5 based diagnostic procedure necessitating a practical use of time to gather appropriate information.Objective:To assess concurrent validity of the Computer-Assisted Structured Diagnostic Interview (CASDI), a newly devised, fully structured interview which encompasses categorical and dimensional approaches and automatically navigates the interviewer, through computerized decision trees (algorithms), in a specified probing system.Method:A total of 258 children and adolescents (46.51% boys) aged 8-18 years (Mean±SD: 12.66±2.73) and their parents were recruited from a community sample. For each pair of child-parent, the child and one parent were interviewed separately by an interviewer using the CASDI and by a second blind interviewer using the DSM-5 Pediatric Diagnostic Interview one week after the CASDI administration. Validity indicators (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and positive and negative predictive values for 12-month diagnoses were calculated.Results:The CASDI had sensitivity above 70% for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders, Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Elimination Disorders, Sleep-Wake Disorders, Gender Dysphoria, Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders, Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders and below 50% for Bipolar and Related Disorders and Dissociative Disorders.Conclusion:The observed validity indicators suggest that the CASDI can be potentially used to accurately diagnose child and adolescent mental health disorders for research and clinical purposes. Its use in special populations, such as hospitalized or institutionalized children and adolescents, deserves further study.