The child phone interview included the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) screener and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children depression modules (DISC-IV). The PHQ-9 was completed prior to other depression and mental health measures.
The PHQ-9 is a self-administered version of the depression portion of the PRIME-MD interview,11 (link) which uses DSM-IV criteria to assess for mental disorders in primary care.8 (link) It can be scored to provide a dichotomous diagnosis of probable major depression and to grade symptom severity via a continuous score. The PHQ-9 has been found to have high sensitivity (73%) and high specificity (98%) for the diagnosis of major depression in adult populations.8 (link), 11 (link) Among adults, scores on the PHQ-9 have also been used to define severity for probable diagnoses in the following manner: a score of 5-9 is considered minimal depression, 10-14 is considered mild major, 15-19 is moderate major, and ≥20 is severe major.8 (link) The PHQ-9 also has a functional impairment question (item 10) that asks how much the symptoms they endorse in the first 9 items interfere with daily functioning.
The DISC-IV is a reliable and valid structured interview designed for lay interviewers, which includes algorithms to diagnose DSM-IV disorders in children and adolescents.12 (link) Telephone versions of structured psychiatric interviews have been found to have a high correlation with in-person interviews.13 (link), 14 (link) In order to decrease patient burden, only the depression modules (major depression and dysthymia) were used. All interviewers received 12 hours of classroom and hands-on training and additional project-specific training on the DISC-IV.
The PHQ-9 is a self-administered version of the depression portion of the PRIME-MD interview,11 (link) which uses DSM-IV criteria to assess for mental disorders in primary care.8 (link) It can be scored to provide a dichotomous diagnosis of probable major depression and to grade symptom severity via a continuous score. The PHQ-9 has been found to have high sensitivity (73%) and high specificity (98%) for the diagnosis of major depression in adult populations.8 (link), 11 (link) Among adults, scores on the PHQ-9 have also been used to define severity for probable diagnoses in the following manner: a score of 5-9 is considered minimal depression, 10-14 is considered mild major, 15-19 is moderate major, and ≥20 is severe major.8 (link) The PHQ-9 also has a functional impairment question (item 10) that asks how much the symptoms they endorse in the first 9 items interfere with daily functioning.
The DISC-IV is a reliable and valid structured interview designed for lay interviewers, which includes algorithms to diagnose DSM-IV disorders in children and adolescents.12 (link) Telephone versions of structured psychiatric interviews have been found to have a high correlation with in-person interviews.13 (link), 14 (link) In order to decrease patient burden, only the depression modules (major depression and dysthymia) were used. All interviewers received 12 hours of classroom and hands-on training and additional project-specific training on the DISC-IV.
