The Dominic-R: A pictorial interview for 6-to 11-year-old children

Objective: To review the Dominic-R and the Terry questionnaires, respective ly for white and African-American children, both DSM-lll-R-based, and more recent DSM-IV-based computerized versions. Method: Five papers describing t he development, content, validation studies, and establishment of the diagn ostic cutpoints of these instruments are reviewed. The instruments are pict orial, fully structured, and designed to assess mental disorders in childre n 6 to 11 years of age. Symptom descriptions complement the visual stimulus , providing better information-processing than visual or auditory stimuli a lone. Cognitive immaturity of young children bars frequency, duration, and age-of-onset measurements, restricting correspondence with DSM criteria. DS M-IV(computerized versions) and DSM-III-R (paper versions) disorders being assessed include specific (simple) phobias, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety (overanxious), depression/dysthymia, attention-deficit hyperactivi ty, oppositional defiant, and conduct disorder. Results: Test-retest reliab ility of symptoms and symptom scores and criterion validity against clinica l judgment support the visual-auditory combination of stimuli to assess chi ld mental health. Conclusion: Intended for clinical, epidemiological, and s creening purposes, these instruments are short and simple. Although it only approximates DSM-III-R and DSM-IV criteria, the pictorial format permits y oung children to be reliable informants about their mental health.