The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule: a test of its validity in a population of black adults

This article examines the validity of the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) relative to three of its measures: alcoholism, depression, and schizophrenia when compared with the clinical interview. Preliminary results indicate that greater diagnostic agreement was observed for alcoholism and depression than for schizophrenia. Much of the disagreement between the DIS interview and the clinician's ratings regarding schizophrenia seems to have occurred in cases with a mixture of schizophrenic and depressive symptoms.