Face-to-Face Versus Telephone Administration of the Parent’s Version of the Children’s Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (P-ChIPS)

The aim of this study was to examine the acceptability and reliability of telephone administration of the parent’s version of the Children’s Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (P-ChIPS), a diagnostic interview examining 21 separate psychiatric syndromes, compared with face-to-face administration. Parents of 12 participants—seven boys and five girls—completed this preliminary study. The mean age of the children was 12.2 years (SD, 3.9 years). In comparing telephone and face-to-face administrations of the P-ChIPS, the percent agreement for each diagnosis was 75% to 100%, with an average percent agreement of 93.8% across all disorders assessed. Results of the face-to-face and telephone administration of the P-ChIPS were comparable, but this needs to be confirmed using a larger sample.