Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children
The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) is an extensively tested child and adolescent diagnostic interview that has been evaluated in both clinical and community samples (Shaffer et al., 1996). A family of highly structured psychiatric interviews designed to assess more than 25 different mental disorders in children and adolescents, the DISC incorporates the diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM–IV) and third edition revised (DSM–III–R), and of the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD–10). The DISC–IV provides a detailed assessment of impairment based on responses to six sets of questions about the effect of symptoms on the youth’s relationships with his or her caretakers, family, or peers and at school.3The psychometrics of the DISC have been evaluated extensively in a variety of settings. Five studies of psychiatric disorders in youth in various juvenile justice settings have reported rates based on systematic assessment using the DISC (Atkins, Pumariega, and Rogers, 1999; Duclos et al., 1998; Garland et al., 2001; Randall et al., 1999; and Teplin et al., 2002). Except for the study by Garland and colleagues, all of these investigations were based on earlier, now superseded, versions of the DISC, and none used the recently developed Voice DISC, which is self-administered using a computer and headphones. Several aspects of the Voice DISC make it well suited for use within the juvenile justice system:
- Minimal staff support requirements.
- Immediate scoring, with a printout of provisional DSM–IV diagnoses
and symptom counts available for followup by a clinician.
- Increased likelihood of disclosure, especially for suicidality and substance use. (The enhanced privacy of the self-administered format contributes to the willingness of youth to disclose sensitive personal information.)
Preliminary data show that the reliability of the Voice DISC is comparable to that of other versions of the DISC (Lucas, 2003).
In contrast to many other assessment instruments, the Voice DISC provides provisional diagnoses for the youth assessed. Because diagnosis drives mental health treatment, having information about a youth’s diagnosis is critical. Most evidence-based treatment services have been designed for specific disorders and have been shown to be effective only when they are provided to youth who have those disorders. The Voice DISC generates provisional diagnoses of disorders present in the past month, which makes it especially useful within juvenile justice settings, where prompt identification of youth who need immediate treatment is important.
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