NCJ Number
187568
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 265-273
Date Published
March 2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a study designed to determine discriminative and convergent validity for certain structured diagnostic assessments among adolescents with conduct and substance abuse problems.
Abstract
Patients were 87 adolescents (both genders) in treatment for conduct and substance abuse problems. Most controls (n=85; both genders) came from patients' neighborhoods. Assessments included the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Composite International Diagnostic Instrument-Substance Abuse Module, Child Behavior Checklist, and others. Patients' data guided clinical care. Findings show that youths' self-reports significantly discriminated patients from controls in DSM-IV conduct and substance use disorders (CD, SUD) and in numerous associated measures. CD and SUD symptoms correlated strongly; however, some patients apparently minimized symptoms. Youths' self-reports did not discriminate patients from controls in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or major depression (MDD). Parent information raised prevalence rates of ADHD and MDD, which then discriminated patients from controls; however, patients and parents usually disagreed on MDD and ADHD diagnoses. The study concluded that despite some dissimulation, patients' self-reports of CD and SUD correlated highly and had superb discriminative validity, making them useful for treatment and research. Self-reports of ADHD and MDD, apparently lacking discriminative validity, were less useful. Parent reports improve these discriminations but present additional problems. 4 tables, 1 figure, and 43 references