Evaluation of the diagnostic interview for children and adolescents for use in general population samples

This article presents evaluative data on the use of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and AdolescentsRevised (DICAR) to classify DSM-IIIR disorders in the general population. Data for the analyses came from a probability sample (N=251) of parentchild/adolescent dyads aged 6 to 16 separately administered the DICAR on two occasions, 10 to 20 days apart, by trained lay interviewers and child psychiatrists. Data are presented on prevalence,testretest reliability, parentchild/adolescent agreement, and trained lay interviewerchild psychiatrist agreement. High prevalences of oppositional defiant disorder derived from parent assessments and overanxious disorder and dysthymia derived from adolescent assessments suggest that these disorders may be overidentified. Interview data provided by 6 to 11year olds to classify the internalizing disorders were too unreliable to be useful. Agreement between parentchild/adolescent dyads was generally low while agreement between trained lay interviewerschild psychiatrists was generally high.