Objective: Test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Revised Version (DISC-R) were examined to evaluate the effects of a recent revision process.
Method: A sample of outpatients 11 to 17 years old and their parents were administered the DISC-R in a test-retest design.
Results: For the parent interview, four diagnoses had sufficient cases to examine reliability; agreement was good to excellent for three of these. For the child interview, two of the four diagnoses with adequate cases showed good or excellent reliability. Using a combined parent-child algorithm, three of five diagnoses showed good or excellent reliability. Test-retest reliability for symptom scales was excellent for the parent DISC-R and good for the child version, except for oppositional defiant disorder. Maternal depressive symptoms did not affect reliability of reporting about the child's symptomatology. Internal consistency was satisfactory for symptom items comprising most diagnoses.
Conclusions: Although some revision of the instrument will be necessary, the findings from this study suggest that the DISC-R is a promising research instrument for the diagnosis of psychopathology in older children and adolescents.