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Problems In Using Diagnosis In Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services Research, Leonard Bickman, Lynne G. Wighton, E. Warren Lambert, Marc Karver, Lindsey Steding

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents results from a three-part study on diagnosis of children with affective and behavior disorders. We examined the reliability, discriminant, and predictive validity of common diagnoses used in mental health services research using a research diagnostic interview. Results suggest four problems: a) some diagnoses demonstrate internal consistency only slightly better than symptoms chosen at random; b) diagnosis did not add appreciably to a brief global functioning screen in predicting service use; c) low inter-rater reliability among informants and clinicians for six of the most common diagnoses; and d) clinician diagnoses differed between sites in ways that reflect different …