Semi-structured diagnostic interview operationalising all 18 DSM-5 ADHD criteria in adults, with childhood and adulthood assessment and impairment across five life domains.
The DIVA-5 is a semi-structured diagnostic interview for ADHD in adults, built directly on the DSM-5 criteria. It works through all eighteen symptom criteria - nine for inattention and nine for hyperactivity/impulsivity - asking about each in both adulthood and childhood, and then assesses whether symptoms cause impairment across five domains of functioning: education, work, social relationships, leisure activities, and family or partner relationships.
Unlike the self-report screeners in this library, the DIVA-5 is administered by a clinician, ideally with a partner or family member present to support childhood recall. A full interview typically takes around 60 to 90 minutes. It produces a diagnostic conclusion rather than a severity score, which places it at the assessment end of the pathway - after a positive screen, not instead of one.
02 - Origin & purpose
Where it comes from.
The DIVA was developed by psychiatrist J.J.S. (Sandra) Kooij and M.H. Francken in the Netherlands, with the DIVA 2.0 published in 2010 as a freely accessible structured interview for adult ADHD based on DSM-IV. The DIVA-5, its successor, updates the interview to DSM-5 criteria and is maintained and distributed by the DIVA Foundation, which uses the modest licence fee to fund translations - now available in more than 25 languages, with versions for adolescents (Young DIVA-5) and for intellectual disability (DIVA-5-ID).
Because it is short of the full neuropsychiatric battery but far more thorough than a screening questionnaire, the DIVA has become one of the most widely used diagnostic interviews for adult ADHD in European clinical practice.
03 - Scoring & cutoffs
How scoring works.
There is no summed score. For each of the eighteen DSM-5 criteria, the interviewer judges - using concrete examples discussed with the patient - whether the symptom is present in adulthood and whether it was present in childhood. A criterion domain is considered met when at least five of its nine adult symptoms are endorsed (the DSM-5 adult threshold), with evidence of onset before age 12 and impairment in at least two settings. The interview ends with a structured summary of symptom counts, childhood onset and impaired domains, supporting a DSM-5 diagnosis of the inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive or combined presentation.
04 - Validation evidence
How well it performs.
Validation evidence comes from the DIVA 2.0 and from translated versions of the DIVA-5. The DIVA 2.0 discriminated adult ADHD cases from non-cases with sensitivity of 90.0% and specificity of 72.9% in a Spanish criterion-validity study (Ramos-Quiroga et al.). The Korean DIVA-5 validation reported 92% diagnostic accuracy against clinical diagnosis (sensitivity 91.3%, specificity 93.6%), and the Farsi version showed 81.7% diagnostic agreement with the SCID-5. Only a minority of the 25+ translations have undergone formal validation.
90.0%
SENSITIVITY (DIVA 2.0)
72.9%
SPECIFICITY (DIVA 2.0)
92% accuracy
KOREAN DIVA-5
60-90 min
DURATION
05 - How it compares
How it compares to the alternatives.
Instrument
Items
Time
When to reach for it
ASRS-5
6
~1 min
Free. Reach for it as the first-line adult ADHD screen before committing to a diagnostic interview.
Licensed. Reach for it when you want normed severity profiles and observer ratings alongside diagnosis.
06 - When to use it
Right tool, wrong tool.
Reach for it when
-Structured diagnostic assessment of adult ADHD after a positive screen
-Services that want DSM-5 criterion-by-criterion documentation with childhood evidence
-Assessments where a partner or parent can attend to support childhood recall
-Clinics that need translated versions - 25+ languages are available
Reach for something else when
-Screening - use the ASRS-5 first; the DIVA-5 is too long for routine screening
-Self-report or unsupervised online use - it is a clinician-administered interview
-Measuring treatment response over time - it yields a diagnosis, not a change-sensitive severity score
-Settings without budget for the licence or time for a 60-90 minute interview
07 - Confidence & precision
Reading the score with care.
Concepts like standard error of measurement and minimal clinically important difference do not apply: the DIVA-5 yields criterion judgements and a diagnostic conclusion, not a continuous score. Its reliability rests on the interviewer - the semi-structured format with concrete examples is designed to standardise judgement, and validation studies report good agreement with expert diagnosis, but training and adherence to the interview structure matter.
08 - Limitations
What it cannot tell you.
Licensed: €10 per clinician per download, and the content cannot be reproduced or embedded in tools like this one
Time-intensive at 60-90 minutes, plus an informant where possible
Retrospective childhood assessment remains vulnerable to recall bias, even with informants
Only a minority of the 25+ translations have been formally validated (Korean, Farsi and Italian among them)
Specificity of the DIVA 2.0 was modest (72.9%) - clinical judgement about differential diagnoses is still required
No severity score, so it cannot be used to monitor treatment response
09 - Licensing, explained
How licensing works.
The DIVA-5 is distributed by the DIVA Foundation (divacenter.eu), which charges a one-off fee of €10 per clinician per download; in clinics each clinician needs their own copy. The interview content may not be reproduced, which is why this page describes the instrument without showing it. Translations exist in more than 25 languages.
Common questions from clinicians
FAQ
References
Source literature.
[1]Kooij JJS, Francken MH Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults 2.0 (DIVA 2.0). DIVA Foundation, The Hague (2010) ↩
See how Aisel removes friction where it costs most. A 20-minute walkthrough tailored to your clinic.
We value your privacy
We use cookies to analyse site usage and improve your experience. Analytics and embedded media (e.g. YouTube) only load if you accept. Read our cookie policy.