The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) is a diagnostic exam used to determine DSM-IV Axis I disorders (major mental disorders). The SCID-II is a diagnostic exam used to determine Axis II disorders (personality disorders). There are at least 700 published studies in which the SCID was the diagnostic instrument used. Major parts of the SCID have been translated into other languages, including Danish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Zulu.
Contents
An Axis I SCID assessment with a psychiatric patient usually takes between 1 and 2 hours, depending on the complexity of the subject's psychiatric history and their ability to clearly describe episodes of current and past symptoms. A SCID with a non-psychiatric patient takes 1/2 hour to 1-1/2 hours. (See editions below.) A SCID-II personality assessment takes about 1/2 to 1 hour.
The instrument was designed to be administered by a mental health professional, for example a psychologist or psychiatrist. This must be someone who has relevant professional training and has had experience performing unstructured, open-ended question, diagnostic evaluations. However, for the purposes of some research studies, non-clinician research assistants, who have extensive experience with the study population in question, and who have demonstrated competence, have been trained to use the SCID. The less clinical experience and specific education the potential interviewer has had, the more training is required.
DSM-IV editions of SCID-I and SCID-II
There are several editions of the SCID-I addressed to different audiences:
The SCID-II for DSM-IV comes in a single edition.
The first version of the SCID for DSM-5, intended for researchers, was released on 24 November 2014. American Psychiatric Association Publishing offers four versions the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5), and pricing varies according to intended use.
DSM-III editions of SCID-I and SCID-II
The DSM-III SCID had one edition per axis: SCID-P/SCID-NP and SCID-II.
The reliability and validity of the SCID for DSM-III-R has been reported in several published studies. With regard to reliability, the range in reliability is enormous, depending on the type of the sample and research methodology (i.e., joint vs. test-retest, multi-site vs. single site with raters who have worked together, etc.)
SCID-D
The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative disorders (SCID-D) is widely used to diagnose dissociative disorders, especially in research settings. This interview takes about 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on individual's experiences. The SCID-D has been translated into Dutch and is used in the Netherlands.