Computerized administration of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) is a highly structured interview designed to be administered by lay interviewers and to yield psychiatric diagnoses. While the DIS has been used widely in large research centers, its use has been limited due to its complexity and need for extensive training to administer. In the present study 100 volunteers consisting of 80 psychiatric patients and 20 normal controls completed a self-administering computerized version of the DIS on two occasions. A standardized Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) was administered to each volunteer before the first and after the second computerized DIS (C-DIS). The C-DIS yielded acceptable test-retest reliability. Certain diagnoses were found to yield high test-retest reliability while reliability was lower for others. This general pattern was similar to the results of previous procedural validity studies. Patients found the C-DIS generally easy to use and operate, and after using the C-DIS, felt that their level of expertise in using computers had improved. Generally, the results support the use of computerized administration of the DIS.