Limited Cultural Validity of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview’s Probe Flow Chart

Abstract
The probe flow chart of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was designed to assess psychiatric somatic complaints in various cultures. The CIDI’s probe flow chart does not appear to function properly in the Nepali context as the chart contains two assumptions that do not hold in Nepali culture, namely that: (i) respondents attribute their symptoms to mental, physical or substance-related processes, and (ii) doctors communicate diagnoses to their patients. The cultural validity of the CIDI is questioned.