The Spanish Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Reliability and comparison with clinical diagnoses

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Clinical Psychology
• Cross-cultural Psychiatry

Background:

• The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) is a crucial tool for mental health diagnosis.
• A Spanish translation is needed to serve Spanish-speaking populations effectively.
• Ensuring the validity of translated instruments is essential for accurate mental healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To translate the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) into Spanish.
• To assess the reliability of the Spanish DIS.
• To evaluate the equivalence of the Spanish DIS to the English version.
• To examine the agreement between the Spanish DIS and clinical diagnoses.

Main Methods:

• Translation of the DIS into Spanish.
• Two independent administrations of the Spanish DIS to 90 bilingual and 61 monolingual Spanish-speaking patients.
• One independent clinical evaluation for each subject.
• Analysis of reliability, equivalence, and diagnostic agreement.

Main Results:

• The Spanish DIS demonstrated good reliability.
• The Spanish DIS showed high equivalence to the original English version.
• Strong agreement was found between the Spanish DIS and clinical diagnoses.

Conclusions:

• The translated Spanish DIS is a reliable and valid instrument.
• The Spanish DIS can be effectively used for mental health assessments in Spanish-speaking populations.
• This validated instrument supports equitable mental healthcare delivery.