Abstract
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical validities and efficiencies of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (ARS) in identifying children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Korean community-based samples.
Method:
A large sample of elementary school students (n = 1668) participated in this study. We used the CBCL and the ARS as the screening instruments. Diagnoses were determined by clinical psychiatric interviews and confirmed by DSM-IV–based structured interviews.
Results:
Of the 46 subjects who underwent clinical psychiatric interviews, 33 were diagnosed as having ADHD. A T score of 60 with regard to the Attention Problems profile of the CBCL resulted in a reasonable level of sensitivity or positive predictive value in the diagnosis of ADHD. In both the parent and teacher reports of the ARS, 90th percentile cut-off points resulted in a high level of predictive value. The highest levels of specificity and positive predictive value were obtained when we combined the CBCL (T ≥ 60 in Attention Problems) and the ARS (parent–teacher total ≥ 90th percentile) reports.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that the combined use of the CBCL and the ARS could serve as a rapid and useful clinical method of predicting or even diagnosing children with ADHD in epidemiologic case definitions.