Reliability and Validity of the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID)

Reliability and Validity of the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID)

The primary aims of this study are to assess:

1. The inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the MINI-KID
2. The validity of the standard MINI-KID interview in relation to the parent rated pencil/paper version (MINI-KID-P) and th longer clinician rated "Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) and "expert opinion" (when available).

Secondary aims will include evaluating the concordance between: The Children's Global Assessment Scale (a required part of the K-SADS) with the clinician-rated Sheehan Disability Scale (to be administered with the MINI-KID) as a measure of illness severity.

The MINI-KID is a short, structured diagnostic interview used to assess the presence of 24 DSM-IV child and adolescent psychiatric disorders as well as the risk of suicide.

To achieve adequate representation of the major psychiatric disorders and sufficient normal controls, we propose recruiting 230 children and adolescents (ages 6 to 17 years 11 months), comprised of 200 subjects identified as having one or more psychiatric disorders and 30 normal controls in the community. These subjects will be from diverse socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. We will assess the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the MINI-KID and examine its validity with the "gold-standard" diagnostic interview for children and adolescents as well as expert opinion.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects will be between the ages of 6 years and 17 years, 11 months
• All subjects must meet MINI-KID DSM-IV criteria for a least one of the Axis I child psychiatry disorders covered by the MINI-KID.
• Both sexes are included.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects who suffer from mental retardation, significant developmental disorders, congenital abnormalities, delirium, dementia, a language problem, or brain damage will be excluded.
• Subjects with neurological disorders, chronic or life threatening diseases will be excluded.