Diagnostic Tools to Assess DMDD in Children and Adolescents

This chapter emphasizes the critical role of accurate assessment in behavioral health, highlighting the consequences of diagnostic errors like the overdiagnosis of bipolar disorder in children during the 1990s. The chapter discusses the broader implications of diagnostic accuracy, linking it to healthcare costs and the efficiency of health interventions. Wilson et al. (Health Psychol 38(8):669–671, 2019a; Children’s Health Care 48(4):394–409, 2019b) note the USA’s high healthcare expenditure, emphasizing that significant health influences stem from factors outside the healthcare system, including lifestyle choices. The chapter advocates for using common metrics to evaluate health interventions’ cost-effectiveness, underscoring the necessity of monitoring health outcomes, especially given that a small population segment incurs a disproportionate share of healthcare costs. This analysis is pivotal in managing healthcare resources and ensuring trust in behavioral health services.