Extreme Reactions to a Diagnostic Interview: Problems in Screening for Psychopathology in a Non-Referred Sample of School Children

Abstract

There are currently a number of diagnostic interviews designed to assess psycho- pathology in children according to the DSM and ICD diagnostic systems. There is very little research about the way in which children and adolescents experience these interviews or potential problems with diagnostic interviewing. The aims of this article are to describe some extreme reactions to a diagnostic interview conducted for research purposes, review the available literature on this subject, and discuss the implications of the current findings with regard to clinical research.

Keywords

children and adolescents reactions to diagnostic interviews school-based research

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Costello, E. , Edelbrock, L. , Dulcan, M. , Kalas, R. , & Klaric, S. (1984). Report on the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC). Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Mental Health.

Herjanic, B. , Hudson, R. , & Kotloff, K. (1976). Does interviewing harm children? Research Communications in Psychology, Psychiatry and Behaviour, 1, 523-531.

Hodges, K. , Kline, J. , Stern, L. , Cytryn, L. , & McKnew, D. (1982). The development of a child assessment interview for research and clinical use. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 173-189.

Kovacs, M. (1983). The Interview Schedule for Children (ISC): Interrater and parent-child agreement. Unpublished manuscript, University of Pittsburgh.

Lee, P. , Leung, P. , Fung, A. , Low, L. , Tsang, M. , & Leung, W. (1996). An episode of syncope attacks in adolescent schoolgirls: Investigations, intervention and outcome. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 69, 247-257.

Lewis, S. , Gorsky, A. , Cohen, P. , & Hartmark, C. (1984). The reactions of youth to diagnostic interviews. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 750-755.

Puig-Antich, J. , & Chambers, W. (1978). The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (Kiddie-SADS). New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Reich, W. , & Welner, Z. (1988). Revised version of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA-R). St Louis, MO: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine.

Shaffer, D. , Schwab-Stone, M. , Fisher, P. , Davies, M. , Piacentini, J. , & Gioia, P. (1988). A revised version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-R). Results of a field trial and proposals for a new instrument (DISC-2). Washington, DC: NIMH, Division of Epidemiology.