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. 2007 Jan;42(1):36-49.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-006-0092-9. Epub 2006 Sep 12.

The children's services interview: validity and reliability

Tamsin Ford  1 , Helena Hamilton, Sabina Dosani, Lisa Burke, Robert Goodman
Affiliations

The children's services interview: validity and reliability

Tamsin Ford et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2007 Jan.

Abstract

Background: The Children Service Interview was designed as a brief measure of service use related to mental health problems in Great Britain.

Method: We validated the Children's Services Interview against medical records from a sample of 87 children, and assessed test-retest reliability from 25 parents completing two interviews. We examined criterion validity by looking at the service use patterns of children attending clinics for different types of disorders.

Results: The Children's Services Interview showed high levels of face validity and moderate or better concordance with medical records as far as contacts were recorded in the case notes. Test-retest reliability was moderate or better apart from contacts with the voluntary sector, teachers, and the number and duration of appointments with some professionals.

Conclusion: The study suggests the Children's Services Interview can extract moderately valid and reliable data on service use.

Declaration of interest: Tamsin Ford was supported by a Wellcome Clinical Training Fellowship in Health Services Research while completing this work.

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