This study examined teachers' behavioral ratings of young children (ages 5 and 6) with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A study group consisting of 30 children with formal diagnoses of ADHD and a comparison group of 30 children without ADHD were developed using randomized matching procedures. Teachers of these children rated their behavior at the end of the school year using two child behavior rating instruments: The Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS; Merrell, 1994) and ADHD Symptoms Rating Scale (ADHD-SRS; Holland, Gimpel, & Merrell, 2001). Correlations between scores on the two measures were statistically significant and strong. Differences between behavior rating scores of the two groups were statistically significant and large, and the combination of scores from both measures efficiently predicted group classification. These results support the use of the PKBS and ADHD-SRS as screeners for the presence of ADHD-related behavior in young children and provide additional information on the characteristics of ADHD symptoms in young children. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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