Screening and diagnostic utility of self-report attention deficit hyperactivity disorder scales in adults
Section snippets
Participants
Eighty-two patients evaluated during 1997 to 1999 in an adult ADHD specialty clinic provided data for this study. These patients presented for evaluation based on the reputation of the clinic in the Seattle area as a university-affiliated clinic that would provide a thorough, several-hour evaluation based on self-report, review of corroborating documents (e.g., grade school report cards, performance evaluations), and interview of parents or other family members. Some patients presented to our
Results
Based on the diagnostic interview, 38 patients were identified with ADHD, and 44 received a non-ADHD principal diagnosis. Patients with ADHD were significantly younger than non-ADHD patients [34.2 v 40.3 years; t(80) = 2.80, P < .01]. Most of the patients were white, and this did not differ by diagnosis (ADHD 97.4%, non-ADHD 95.5%). A higher proportion of the non-ADHD group was male (63.6%) than the ADHD group (55.3%), but this was not a statistically significant difference. The principal
Discussion
The relatively recent recognition of ADHD as a true syndrome in adults has left researchers and clinicians eager for valid and reliable screening measures and tools to aid in the diagnosis of this population. A number of such measures have been published both commercially and in the research literature. Our own clinical experience has taught us that many adults have been told that they have ADHD based largely (and sometimes solely) on their responses to self-report indices of symptoms. Our
References (38)
- et al.
The adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria: I. An 8-year prospective follow-up study
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(1990) - et al.
Adolescents with ADHDpatterns of behavioral adjustment, academic functioning, and treatment utilization
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(1991) - et al.
Young adult mental status of hyperactive boys and their brothersa prospective follow-up study
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(1991) - et al.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adultscomorbidities and adaptive impairments
Compr Psychiatry
(1996) - et al.
Toward a broader definition of the age-of-onset criterion for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
(1997) - et al.
Diagnostic reliability of the history of hypomania in bipolar II patients and patients with major depression
Compr Psychiatry
(1993) - et al.
DSM-III-R personality disorders in a mood and anxiety disorders clinicprevalence, comorbidity, and clinical correlates
J Affect Disord
(1993) Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderA Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment
(1998)- et al.
A prospective 4-year follow-up study of attention-deficit hyperactivity and related disorders
Arch Gen Psychiatry
(1996) - et al.
Hyperactive Children Grown UpADHD in Children, Adolescents, and Adults
(1993)
Patterns of psychiatric comorbidity, cognition, and psychosocial functioning in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Am J Psychiatry
Is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults a valid disorder?
Harv Rev Psychiatry
Hyperactive boys and their brothersa 25-year follow-up study
Arch Gen Psychiatry
Adult outcome of hyperactive boys. Educational achievement, occupational rank, and psychiatric status
Arch Gen Psychiatry
Adult psychiatric status of hyperactive boys grown up
Am J Psychiatry
Adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorderassessment guidelines based on clinical presentation to a specialty clinic
Compr Psychiatry
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderA Clinical Workbook
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults
Am J Psychiatry
Cited by (73)
Reliability and validity of a semi-structured DSM-based diagnostic interview module for the assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in adult psychiatric outpatients
2016, Psychiatry ResearchCitation Excerpt :Given the relative dearth of well-validated diagnostic instruments for assessing ADHD in outpatient psychiatric samples, practitioners and researchers have largely relied on self- and observer-rated survey measures, such as the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS; Conners et al., 1999) and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS; Kessler et al., 2005). These measures typically show acceptable to good reliability and convergent validity, but they lack sufficient specificity to be used as diagnostic instruments (e.g., Barkley et al., 2008; McCann and Roy-Byrne, 2004; Van Voorhees et al., 2011). This is not surprising given that many psychiatric disorders include impaired concentration and/or impulsive, disinhibited behavior among their presenting symptoms, so merely summing up the items endorsed on a survey measure is not likely to yield a well-differentiated diagnostic impression.
Don't judge a book by its cover: ADHD-like symptoms in obsessive compulsive disorder
2013, Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related DisordersScreening for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology in adult mental health clinics
2018, Irish Journal of Psychological MedicineSelf-Reported Adult ADHD Symptoms: Evidence Supporting Cautious Use in an Assessment-Seeking Sample
2023, Journal of Attention DisordersExecutive and Daily Life Functioning Influence the Relationship Between ADHD and Mood Symptoms in University Students
2021, Journal of Attention Disorders