Validation of the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview (3Di) Among Chinese Children in a Child Psychiatry Clinic in Hong Kong.
The Chinese 3Di spots ASD reliably in Cantonese-speaking clinic children, even when ADHD is also on the table.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors in a Hong Kong child psychiatry clinic gave 3Di interviews to local children.
The kids already carried ASD, ADHD, or other diagnoses.
They wanted to know if the Chinese-language 3Di still flagged autism correctly.
What they found
The Chinese 3Di agreed with expert team diagnoses 95 times out of 100.
It rarely missed ASD and it rarely over-called it.
Results stayed strong even when ADHD clouded the picture.
How this fits with other research
Wang et al. (2025) later showed the Chinese Vineland also works well for young children with ASD.
Together the two tools give you a reliable interview plus an adaptive-skills checklist in the same language.
Lovell et al. (2016) showed that an early ASD label usually sticks; Schaaf et al. (2015) now tell us the label is probably right when the 3Di is used.
Jin et al. (2018) found very low ASD rates in Shanghai schools; the clinic-based 3Di data help explain why—school screens miss many children who later show clear signs in specialty care.
Why it matters
If you assess Cantonese-speaking children, you can trust the Chinese 3Di for intake.
Pair it with the Chinese Vineland to cover both diagnosis and daily skills.
Document 3Di results when you refer families—local teams value the same metric.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder with high levels of co-morbidities. The Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview (3 Di) is a relatively new instrument designed to provide dimensional as well as categorical assessment of autistic behaviours among children with normal intelligence. Its sound psychometric properties and relatively short administration time make it a versatile instrument. The 3 Di was translated into Chinese (Cantonese) and its applicability among 194 clinic children was examined. Results found excellent reliability and validity, and achieved a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 77%. It was able to capture the diagnosis of ASD among children presenting with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, although the disorder of ASD is considered universal, the use of a western instrument in a Chinese context should also take note of cultural influences that may impact on the manifestation of its symptoms.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015 · doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2284-6