Do children aged 9 through 11 years understand the DISC Version 2.25 questions?

Objective: To assess the understanding of Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Version 2.25 (DISC-2.25) questions by children aged 9 through 11 years.
Method: Two hundred forty children were recruited from four public schools. The cognitive appraisal of 280 questions from the most prevalent DSM-III-R diagnoses was evaluated. The collaboration of four children was necessary to cover one DISC. Sixty DISCs, evenly distributed according to age and sex, were completed. Two child psychiatrists evaluated the children's answers. Nonparametric tests were used to assess understanding of questions as a whole, of time concepts (overall, categories, number), and of questions based on the number of words.
Results: Children aged 9, 10, and 11 years understood 38%, 38%, and 42% of the questions as a whole, respectively, and 26%, 24%, and 30% of the overall time concepts, respectively. The understanding rates of questions as a whole were significantly higher than those of overall time concepts. Durations were significantly better understood than periods and frequencies, and questions having one time component were significantly better grasped than those with two or more. Shorter questions were significantly better understood than longer ones.
Conclusion: Although the DISC has been greatly improved since the initial version, the results suggest that additional revision is needed before clinicians or researchers use the DISC with younger children.