Use of Young DIVA-5

The Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in young people aged 5 -17 years (Young DIVA-5)

Young DIVA-5 is based on the DSM-5 criteria for ADHD. It is a structured clinical interview for ADHD in young people aged 5-17 years, adjusted for young people, and modelled on the DIVA 2.0 (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults), that was based on the previous DSM-IV-TR criteria. DIVA 2.0 is widely used in the clinical diagnosis of ADHD in adults, having been translated into many languages.

In order to simplify the evaluation of each of the 18 symptomcriteria for ADHD, the interview provides a list of concrete and realistic examples. The examples are based on the commondescriptions provided by patients in clinical practice. Examples are also provided of the types of impairments that are commonly associated with the symptoms in five areas of everyday life: at home and at school or college; relationships and family life; social contacts; free time and hobbies; selfconfidence and self-image. Whenever possible, the Young DIVA should be completed with the young person in the presence of a parent and/or family member, to enable retrospective and collateral information to be ascertained at the same time.

The Young DIVA usually takes around one hour to complete. The Young DIVA only asks about  the core symptoms of ADHD required to make the DSM-5 diagnosis of ADHD, and does not ask about other co-occurring psychiatric symptoms, syndromes or disorders. However comorbidity is commonly seen in young people with ADHD. For this reason, it is important to complete a general psychiatric assessment to enquire about commonly co-occurring symptoms, syndromes and disorders. The most common co-occurring problems that accompany ADHD include conduct, anxiety, depressive, substance misuse, sleep, social communication and learning disorders. All these should be investigated. This is needed to understand the full range of symptoms experienced by the individual with ADHD; and also for the differential diagnosis, to exclude other major psychiatric disorders as the primary cause of ‘ADHD symptoms’.