%0 Journal Article
%T Problems in Using Diagnosis in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Research
%A Leonard Bickman
%A Lynne G. Wighton
%A E. Warren Lambert
%A Marc S. Karver
%J Journal of Methods and Measurement in the Social Sciences
%D 2012
%I University of Arizona
%X 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 reimbursement strategies. The study concludes that clinicians and researchers should not assume diagnosis is a useful measure of child and adolescent problems and outcomes until there is more evidence supporting the validity of diagnosis.
%K Diagnosis
%K Mental Health Services Research
%K Informant Agreement
%K Child
%K Adolescent
%U https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/jmmss/article/view/16110