Computerized interviews as a method of assessing psychopathology in children

Abstract

A computerized version of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents-Revised (DICA-R) has been developed. There are three versions of the interview, one for children aged 6 to 12, one for adolescents aged 13 to 18, and one for parents of children aged 6 to 18. Acceptability and reliability studies of the child and adolescent versions were performed on 93 subjects. The results show that children of all ages enjoyed the computer, and most were able to complete the interview with very little help. Reasonable reliability was found for both age groups despite difficulty with certain diagnostic criteria.