2. Interviews / instruments for ADHD diagnostics

Interviews are questionnaires that are completed by the doctor/therapist conducting the interview. These are usually based very closely on the DSM criteria.¹ This narrows down the diagnosis in an unpleasant way, as the DSM and ICD only use a very narrow catalog of symptoms.

• 1. Interviews / instruments with preschool children
• 2. Interviews / instruments with schoolchildren / adolescents
• 3. Interviews / instruments for adults
  • 3.1. Tests for ADHD symptoms in adulthood
  • 3.2. Tests for ADHD in childhood
• 4. Live interviews compared to video testing
• 5. Online self-tests

1. Interviews / instruments with preschool children¶

• Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function in Preschool (BRIEF-P)²

2. Interviews / instruments with schoolchildren / adolescents¶

• Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV)³
  Recording period 6 months
• Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA-R)⁴
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA)⁵
  Recording period 6 months
• Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS)⁶
• Childrens Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (ChIPS)⁷
• Swanson, Nolan and Pelham-IV (SNAP IV)
  • 26 items across 18 ADHD and 9 ODD symptom criteria, based on DSM IV.
    Free of charge for clinical use.⁸ Only available in English.⁹
• Scale for recording current symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder according to DSM IV (ADHD-ODD scale)¹⁰
  • According to Kiddie-Sads-Present and Lifetime Version, K-SADS-PL
• DIVA is also suitable for diagnosing adolescents aged 12 to 17. See below.

3. Interviews / instruments for adults¶

3.1. Tests for ADHD symptoms in adulthood¶

• Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in adults (DIVA)¹¹
  • Current: DIVA 5
  • Time required: 1 - 1.5 hours
  • Download for 10 € possible¹²
    • However, the DIVA 5 evaluation differentiates according to age:
      • Children between 5 and 12 years: ADHD (+), if:
        • at least 6 symptoms either
          • Of inattention (6 in total) or
          • Hyperactivity/impulsivity (6 in total) or
          • Of both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (12 in total) are present.
      • Adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17: ADHD (+) if
        • At least 6 symptoms either
          • Of inattention (6 in total) or
          • Hyperactivity/impulsivity (6 in total) or
          • Of both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (12 in total).
        • And in addition at least 3 symptoms (of these or others) occurred before the age of 12 years
      • Adults: ADHD (+), if
        • At least 3 symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity/impulsivity before the age of 12 years
        • And additionally at least 5 symptoms of either inattention (5 in total) or hyperactivity/impulsivity (5 in total) or both (10 in total)
• Homburg ADHD Scales for Adults (HASE)
  HASE consists of five individual procedures¹³¹⁴
  • Wender Utah Rating Scale - German short form (WURS-K)
    Objective: retrospective diagnosis of childhood ADHD-HI symptoms¹⁵
    Refers to ages 8 to 10 years. Must be adjusted accordingly after the DSM criteria have been raised to the age of up to 12 years.
    Method: Self-assessment
    Time required: 10 - 15 min.
  • ADHD self-assessment scale (ADHD-SB)
    Objective: To measure the 18 diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV and ICD-10.
    Method: Self-assessment
    Time required: 10 - 15 min.
  • ADHD Diagnostic Checklist (ADHD-DC)
    External assessment scale for experts based on DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria
    Method: External assessment
    Time required: 10 - 15 min.
  • Wender Reimherr Interview (WRI)
    structured interview with 28 psychopathological characteristics that are particularly important for the diagnosis of ADHD in adults
    The Wender-Reimherr interview is criticized for understating the symptoms of the predominantly inattentive presentation form (ADHD-I)¹⁶
    Method: Interview
    Time required: 25 - 35 min.
  • Wender-Reimherr self-assessment for adult ADHD (WR-SB)
    new self-assessment scale for ADHD in adults
    Method: Self-assessment
    Time required: 30 - 45 min.
• Integrated Diagnosis of ADHD in Adults“ (IDA-R) test system¹⁷
  IDA-R summarizes relevant self-assessment and external assessment instruments to enable a time-efficient and reliable diagnosis based on the current DSM standard. It is available as a print and online version. The set consists of a training video and 3 tests:
• ASRS of the WHO
  • Validated short form of the Wender-Utah Rating Scale (WURS-K) for the retrospective assessment of ADHD symptoms in children and
  • A diagnostic interview based on the latest DSM criteria to assess the current symptoms.

3.2. Tests for ADHD in childhood¶

In adulthood, the presence of ADHD symptoms in childhood/adolescence must be established.
The WURS¹⁸ (free, 6 - 10 years) or the WURS-K (for a fee, part of the HASE, 8 - 10 years) can be used for this purpose.
At 86%, the WURS-K shows a diagnostic accuracy for ADHD in childhood that is 10% worse than the WURS¹⁶

The WURS-K is said to systematically lead to diagnostic problems, as women and girls in particular, as well as men with the predominantly inattentive presentation form ADHD-I, often fall minimally below the scores despite otherwise clear ADHD symptoms¹⁶
The WR-SB self-report questionnaire is also designed not to recognize the predominantly inattentive ADHD-I presentation form¹⁶
Even if the score is only slightly below the required level, the automated evaluation via the Hogrefe test system determines that the ADHD criteria are not met.

4. Live interviews compared to video testing¶

Live interviews and video interviews showed no differences in the results.¹⁹

5. Online self-tests¶

Most of the online self-tests freely available on the internet provide a rough initial assessment. However, pre-testing with such tests distorts the test results of subsequent tests (bias).
However, due to the dramatic lack of resources for diagnosing ADHD and an undeniable lack of knowledge on the part of many doctors and psychologists, the advantages of people with ADHD being able to diagnose it outweigh the disadvantages
the risk of bias is significantly reduced if patients can form their own opinion as to whether a diagnosis makes sense for them.

We have developed our own - quite extensive - online self-test, which showed an agreement of around 93% with existing ADHD diagnoses and around 96% with the CAARS-L. Nevertheless, like any online self-test, it is only an indication and can in no way replace a medical diagnosis. There is also an external assessment base for this. Evaluations are available for both, which can be presented to the subsequent diagnostician, who can then understand in detail how the evaluation came about. This provides an additional perspective on the symptoms.
⇒ ADHD online tests