Feasibility and Pilot Validation of the ADHD Child Evaluation (ACEv.2) Clinical Interview

Background/ObjectivesAccurate assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) requires diagnostically aligned, clinically practical, and accessible tools applicable across diverse service contexts. The ADHD Child Evaluation (ACEv.2) is a freely available, semi-structured clinical interview mapped to DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria. The objective of this pilot study was to translate and adapt ACEv.2 into Hungarian and examine its feasibility, reliability, and concurrent validity in clinical practice.MethodsFollowing a multistep translation process, ACEv.2 and the ADHD module of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI Kid) were administered to 62 children with a prior child psychiatrist-confirmed ADHD diagnosis. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated diagnostic accuracy and reliability, while kappa statistics assessed agreement between ACEv.2 and MINI Kid to determine concurrent validity.ResultsAll participants completed the ACEv.2 interview successfully. ACEv.2 demonstrated excellent reliability (AUC = .94). At the optimal cut-off, sensitivity was 87% and specificity 100%, minimizing false positives. High agreement between ACEv.2 and MINI Kid supported strong concurrent validity, though some variation in subtype classification emerged.ConclusionThis study provides initial evidence supporting the feasibility, reliability, and preliminary validity of the Hungarian ACEv.2. Its structured yet comprehensive approach offers potential advantages for ADHD assessment. Further research should explore its clinical utility in wider cultural and service contexts.