DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis
DIVA is an interview that is semistructured designed to improve ADHD assessment in adults. This study aims to evaluate the reliability of the criteria used to determine DIVA 2.0 and its validity in conjunction with Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV (CAADID) criteria.
Compared to the top 20 attributes, DIVA attributes that correlate strongest with diagnosis are attention deficit for both childhood and adulthood and hyperactivity/impulsivity for adults, followed by CAARS ADHD TT1 score and IOWA personality disorders evaluation.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of ADD/ADHD affect every area of life from relationships and career progression to the everyday tasks that make up our lives. It is important that our ADHD assessment takes a holistic approach, looking at how the symptoms impact every aspect of our lives. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by collecting details of your symptoms and health background. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to examine the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD as well as how those symptoms have impacted your life.
The DIVA is an interviewing tool developed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to determine the signs of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to have a high sensitivity to sound and specificity. It is extremely effective in identifying those who have the disorder. It is able to increase awareness and diagnosis of the condition of adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semi-structured diagnostic interview for adults with ADHD available in the country.
A qualified clinician, typically psychiatrists will inquire about the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The doctor will also look at the history of the individual and their childhood experiences and their impact on their present behavior. This is because the signs of ADHD do not just appear in a flash, they manifest throughout the teen years, and through adulthood.
The DIVA can effectively detect those suffering from ADHD, as it takes into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in childhood and adulthood and how the symptoms have affected an person's daily functioning in five areas of life: education and work, family/partnership relations and leisure time/social activities, and self-esteem and self-confidence. Other screening tools, like the WURS brief that was compared with the CAADID revealed low sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Diagnosis
In order to determine the presence of ADHD in adults, it is crucial to determine the severity of the signs and symptoms as well as their history. This can be accomplished through an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as a neurological assessment. It is also essential to assess the impact of the symptoms on the person's life and work. This can be assessed using a structured clinical interview, called the DIVA, and in some instances, asking for information from family members and friends.
The DIVA interview is a semistructured, structured interview that was originally designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been updated to be used by adults in other countries, including Korea. This study evaluated the criterion validity of the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD.
During the DIVA, the clinician asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms during childhood and adulthood, the time at which the symptoms first manifest, as well as the severity of impairment caused by those symptoms. The clinician will also gather a variety of sociodemographic information and inquire about any psychiatric-related co-morbidity.
Patients were assessed for psychiatric co-morbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0 as well as the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). A diagnosis of clinical ADHD was made by two psychiatrists with experience who utilized the structured diagnostic interview DIVA-5 to assess symptoms in both childhood and adulthood, and to determine the duration of these symptoms.
The sensitivity and specificity of DIVA-5 was found to be high for both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in childhood and adulthood. The diagnostic tool was demonstrated to have good compatibility with the WURS scale, and fair concurrent validity with three self-report rating instruments: the ASRS, FAB, and Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.
The sensitivity and specificity of the DIVA-5 was found to be high for all subtypes of ADHD in both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity in adulthood and during childhood. The accuracy of diagnosis of the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable to that of a clinical diagnosis made by two experienced psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the specificity and sensitivity of previous screening tools such as the ASRS and the WURS.
Treatment
If you are not diagnosed with ADHD it can greatly impact your life. This can be in many aspects, from relationships to academic and work progress to the basic tasks of organising daily living. A diagnosis can help you recognize your strengths and difficulties, as well as provide solutions to help you manage your symptoms and mechanisms.
A trained professional (typically a psychiatrist or a psychologist) will conduct a structured conversation with you, using the DIVA-5 tool to evaluate your current symptoms. This will consist of regular questions about your levels of hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, in order to obtain a complete picture of your symptoms and their impact on your life.
This approach is crucial for ensuring a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. This will help us better comprehend your symptoms and guide your treatment.
The DIVA assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD, with high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been shown to have sound criterion validity when compared with self-report scales for rating such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. adhd assessment has good consistency with these scales and fair validity with Sheehan’s Dysfunction Inventory.
The DIVA assessment, in contrast to the more conventional methods of measuring ADHD in adulthood it focuses on identifying signs that manifest in childhood and into adulthood. This improves the accuracy of the diagnoses and allows for a more accurate comparison of sociodemographic traits between the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also gives an opportunity to look at the effects of co-occurring disorders on appearance of ADHD symptoms.
If your Psychologist cannot prescribe medication, you may require an appointment with a Psychiatrist or Paediatrician for further evaluation and/or treatment. You may be referred to a specialist psychologist for a thorough assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there are any co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing any comorbid disorders, such as depression or anxiety. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend the best treatment plan.
Getting Started
A diagnosis of ADHD can transform your life. It can provide answers to persistent problems and opens the door to effective treatment options. However, a thorough evaluation requires the expertise of qualified medical professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a well-structured and extensive tool, helps to improve the adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by analyzing symptoms at different life stages. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist and aids in distinguishing between ADHD symptoms and other conditions, such as depression or anxiety.
In a DIVA ADHD evaluation, a doctor will conduct a structured interview in order to ask a series questions regarding symptoms such as hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. The doctor evaluates the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the individual in different settings. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.
The DIVA assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and shows high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief, CAA DID and an assessment by a psychiatrist. It also has high validity when assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships with home and family social interactions; leisure time and hobbies.
To be able to conduct a valid DIVA assessment, the individual being evaluated as well as their family and friends need to be present. This helps to establish trust and create a therapeutic bond that will be essential for the success of the evaluation.
A qualified psychologist or psychiatrist who is trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessment can provide a comprehensive report. The report will detail the findings of the test and provide a treatment strategy that is based upon evidence.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment if you think you or someone you love might have ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a thorough evaluation. She can refer you to a specialist who will formulate an appropriate treatment strategy. Please be aware that the recommended treatment method is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.