Computerized Screening for Comorbidity in Adolescents With Substance or Psychiatric Disorders

This Phase II SBIR grant is a follow-up to the Phase I SBIR grant "Computerized Screening for
Comorbidity in Adolescents with Substance or Psychiatric Disorders." During Phase I, parent
and adolescent self administered computerized versions of the psychiatric interview, the
Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS), were developed to assess
DSM-IVR diagnoses in adolescents. Since the funding of the Phase I grant, there have been two
significant developments in the field: the American Psychiatric Association's release of the
DSM-5 manual, and NIMH's launch of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative that aims
to create the necessary database to derive a new psychiatric nomenclature informed by
neuroscience, genetics, and psychology. The primary goals of Phase II include: 1) Update the
parent and adolescent self-administered computerized KSADS (KSADS-COMP) so it is compatible
with DSM-5 criteria; 2) Develop software for a clinician-administered computerized KSADS
(KSADS-COMP); 3) Create a KSADS- Bridge product that includes a battery of RDoC computerized
neurocognitive tasks that can be completed with the self- or clinician-administered
KSADS-COMP; and 4) Examine the criterion, convergent, and discriminant validity of the
self-administered KSADS-COMP, and the relationship among DSM-5 diagnoses, dimensional
measures of psychopathology, and performance on RDoC neurocognitive tasks. Ultimately the aim
of this initiative is to create an instrument that, in addition to providing a reliable
comprehensive assessment tool for psychiatric disorders in adolescents, can bridge DSM-5 and
RDoC diagnostic perspectives. A sample of 400 adolescents and their parents will be recruited
for this study: half will complete the self-administered KSADS-COMP; the other half will
complete the clinician-administered KSADSCOMP. All 400 adolescents and their parents, in
addition to completing one of the KSADS-COMP versions, will also complete a battery of
dimensional symptom rating scales. A subset of 210 adolescents and their parents will then
complete the other version of the KSADS-COMP to test diagnostic concordance between the self-
and clinician-administered KSADS-COMP. To obtain reliable Kappa estimates, this subset will
include 30 adolescents with no psychopathology and 30 adolescents that meet criteria for each
of the following diagnoses: conduct disorder, major depression, bipolar; substance use
disorders; post traumatic stress disorder; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This
subset of 210 adolescents will also be administered the RDoC battery of neurocognitive
computerized tasks. The KSADS-COMP and KSADS-Bridge assessment tools will have multiple
clinical and research applications. In addition to helping identify comorbidity in teens with
substance or psychiatric disorders, it will help to create the cross-talk needed between the
DSM and RDoC diagnostic perspectives, and will help to improve clinical care in the short-
and long-run as the field aims to transition to a new psychiatric nomenclature.

Inclusion Criteria:

- adolescent between the ages of 11 and 17

Exclusion Criteria:

- Children will be excluded if they have a diagnosis of mental retardation (IQ < 70) or
a severe psychosis that would impair the child's ability to participate.