Initial Development of a Digitally Based Comprehensive Child Mental Health Questionnaire

The present report describes the item development and initial validation of a comprehensive child mental health questionnaire through a series of four studies. To maximize clinical utility, the questionnaire was developed to directly reflect Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition psychiatric criteria and diagnoses, cover all mental health conditions that present in youth, and capitalize on the benefits of digital administration, particularly tiered branching logic. Study 1 describes the item generation and development of a tiered item structure. Study 2 established internal consistency and discriminant validity in a representative community sample of 1,000 youth aged 7-17 and a parent. Study 3 examined the acceptability of the questionnaire's content and structure to families and made indicated text revisions. Finally, Study 4 cross validated the internal consistency and tiered structure of a revised version of the questionnaire in a second representative normative sample of 1,000 parent and child dyads. The four studies resulted in a questionnaire consisting of one general mental health question (parent-report only), 16 items (for both parent and child) on a diagnostic category checklist, and 40 scales with screener and follow-up items reflecting DSM-5 criteria for specific disorders (371 parent items and 326 child items). The data support the potential of the questionnaire to efficiently assess the breadth of youth psychiatric symptoms efficiently. Public Significance Statement This series of studies developed a new child- and parent-report questionnaire to assess childhood mental health disorders. The questionnaire used a tiered design to maximize breadth of content while limiting the number of questionnaires completed. These studies provide initial support for the reliability, validity, and usability of the questionnaire and supports further development in clinical samples.