Reliability, Validity, and Clinical Utility of the Dominic Interactive for Adolescents–Revised: A DSM-5–Based Self-Report Screen for Mental Disorders, Borderline Personality Traits, and Suicidality

• Published in: Canadian journal of psychiatry 2017-03, Vol.62 (3), p.211-222
• Main Authors: Bergeron, Lise, Smolla, Nicole, Berthiaume, Claude, Renaud, Johanne, Breton, Jean-Jacques, St.-Georges, Marie, Morin, Pauline, Zavaglia, Elissa, Labelle, Réal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Borderline Personality Disorder - diagnosis; Child; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; Female; Humans; Male; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - standards; Reproducibility of Results; Self report; Self Report - standards; Suicide; Teenagers; User-Computer Interface; Validity
• ISSN: 0706-7437; 1497-0015
• DOI: 10.1177/0706743716670129

Objectives: The Dominic Interactive for Adolescents–Revised (DIA-R) is a multimedia self-report screen for 9 mental disorders, borderline personality traits, and suicidality defined by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). This study aimed to examine the reliability and the validity of this instrument. Methods: French- and English-speaking adolescents aged 12 to 15 years (N = 447) were recruited from schools and clinical settings in Montreal and were evaluated twice. The internal consistency was estimated by Cronbach alpha coefficients and the test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficients. Cutoff points on the DIA-R scales were determined by using clinically relevant measures for defining external validation criteria: the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Abbreviated-Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses provided accuracy estimates (area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio) to evaluate the ability of the DIA-R scales to predict external criteria. Results: For most of the DIA-R scales, reliability coefficients were excellent or moderate. High or moderate accuracy estimates from ROC analyses demonstrated the ability of the DIA-R thresholds to predict psychopathological conditions. These thresholds were generally capable to discriminate between clinical and school subsamples. However, the validity of the obsessions/compulsions scale was too low. Conclusions: Findings clearly support the reliability and the validity of the DIA-R. This instrument may be useful to assess a wide range of adolescents’ mental health problems in the continuum of services. This conclusion applies to all scales, except the obsessions/compulsions one.