Objective: The present study investigates teacher and parent reports of inattention and emotional symptoms in 6,229 primary school children. Method: The assessment included the Emotional Symptoms subscale and the Impact scale from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the inattention items from the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham IV Questionnaire. Results: Children defined as inattentive showed a high risk of being defined as high scorers on the Emotional Symptoms subscale. A high score on both the Inattention and Emotional Symptoms subscales was associated with a high impact score. Teachers but not parents reported a higher risk of such co-occurrence of symptoms in girls than in boys. Conclusion: Inattentive children should be screened for emotional problems by use of the multi-informants method. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 11(5) 580-587 )
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
2.
Angold, A., Costello, E.J., Farmer, E.M.Z., Burns, B.J., & Erkanli, A. (1999). Impaired but undiagnosed. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(2), 129-137.
3.
Arnold, L.E. (1996). Sex differences in ADHD: Conference summary. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24(5), 555-569.
4.
Barkley, R.A. (1998). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
5.
Biederman, J., & Faraone, S.V. (2004). The Massachusetts General Hospital studies of gender influences on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in youth and relatives. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 27(2), 225-232.
6.
Biederman, J., Faraone, S.V., Mick, E., Williamson, S., Wilens, T.E., Spencer, T.J., et al. (1999). Clinical correlates of ADHD in females: Findings from a large group of girls ascertained from pediatric and psychiatric referral sources. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(8), 966-975.
7.
Biederman, J., Kwon, A., Aleardi, B.A., Chouinard, V.-A., Marino, T., Cole, H., et al. (2005). Absence of gender effects on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Findings in nonreferred subjects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(6), 1083-1089.
8.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Sheldon, R. (1998). Girls, delinquency, and juvenile justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
9.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power and analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
10.
Cushman, T.P., & Johnson, T.B. (2001). Understanding “inattention” in children and adolescents. Ethical Human Sciences and Services, 3(2), 107-125.
11.
Ehlers, S., Gillberg, C., & Wing, L. (1999). A screening questionnaire for Asperger syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in school age children . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29(2), 129-141.
12.
Gaub, M., & Carlson, C.L. (1997). Gender differences in ADHD: A meta-analysis and critical review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(8), 1036-1045.
13.
Gershon, J. (2002). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 5(3), 143-154.
14.
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 38(5), 581-586.
15.
Goodman, R. (1999). The extended version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a guide to child psychiatric caseness and consequent burden . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(5), 791-799.
16.
Goodman, R., Ford, T., Simmons, H., Gatward, R., & Meltzer, H. (2000). Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 534-539.
17.
Goodman, R., Ford, T., Simmons, H., Gatward, R., & Meltzer, H. (2003). Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. International Review of Psychiatry, 15(1/2), 166-172.
18.
Goodman, R., Renfrew, D., & Mullick, M. (2000). Predicting type of psychiatric disorder from Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores in child mental health clinics in London and Dhaka. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 9(2), 129-134.
19.
Graetz, B.W., Sawyer, M.G., Baghurst, P., & Ettridge, K. (2006). Are ADHD gender patterns moderated by sample source ? Journal of Attention Disorders, 10(1), 36-43.
20.
Heiervang, E., Stormark, K.M., Lundervold, A.J., Heimann, M., Goodman, R., Posserud, M.B., et al. (2007). Psychiatric disorders in Norwegian 8- to 10-year-olds: An epidemiological survey of prevalence, risk factors, and service use. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(4), 438-447.
21.
Levy, F., Hay, D.A., Bennett, K.S., & McStephen, M. (2005). Gender differences in ADHD subtype comorbidity . Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(4), 368-376.
22.
Loeber, R., Burke, J.D., Lahey, B.B., Winters, A., & Zera, M. (2000). Oppositional defiant and conduct disorder: A review of the past 10 years, PartI. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(12), 1468-1484.
23.
Messer, J., Goodman, R., Rowe, R., Meltzer, H., & Maugham, B. (2006). Preadolescent conduct problems in girls and boys . Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 45(2), 184-191.
24.
McGee, R., & Feehan, M. (1991). Are girls with problems of attention underrecognized?Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 13(3), 187-198.
25.
McMunn, A.M., Nazroo, J.Y., Marmot, M.G., Boreham, R., & Goodman, R. (2001). Children's emotional and behavioural well-being and the family environment: Findings from the Health Survey for England. Social Science and Medicine, 53(4), 423-440.
26.
Milich, R., Balentine, A.C., & Lynam, D.R. (2001). ADHD combined type and ADHD predominantly inattentive type are distinct and unrelated disorders. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 8(4), 463-488.
27.
Öncü, B., Öner, Ö., Öner, P., Erol, N., Aysev, A., & Canat, S. (2004). Symptoms defined by parents' and teachers' ratings in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Changes with age. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(5), 487-491.
28.
Pennington, B.F., & Ozonoff, S. (1996). Executive functions and developmental psychopathology . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37(1), 51-87.
29.
Posserud, M.-B., Lundervold, A.J., & Gillberg, C. (2006). Autistic features in a total population of 7-9-year-old children assessed by the ASSQ (Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(2), 167-175.
30.
Power, T.J., Costigan, T.E., Eiraldi, R.B., & Leff, S.S. (2004). Variations in anxiety and depression as a function of ADHD subtypes defined by DSM-IV: Do subtype differences exist or not?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32(1), 27-37.
31.
Root, R.W.I., & Resnick, R.J. (2003). An update on the diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34(1), 34-41.
32.
Squires, J., Bricker, D., & Twombly, E. (2004). Parent-completed screening for social emotional problems in young children: The effects of risk/disability status and gender on performance. Infant Mental Health Journal, 25(1), 62-73.
33.
Swanson, J.M., Kraemer, H.C., Hinshaw, S.P., Arnold, L.E., Conners, C.K., Abikoff, H.B., et al. (2001). Clinical relevance of the primary findings of the MTA: Success rates based on severity of ADHD and ODD symptoms at the end of treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(2), 168-179.
34.
Wade, T., Cairney, J., & Pevalin, D. (2002). Emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence: National panel results from three countries. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(2), 190-198.
35.
Wilson, B.J. (2003). The role of attentional processes in children's prosocial behavior with peers: Attention shifting and emotion. Development and Psychopathology, 15(2), 313-329.
36.
Wolraich, M.L., Lambert, E.W., Bickman, L., Simmons, T., Doffing, M.A., & Worley, K.A. (2004). Assessing the impact of parent and teacher agreement on diagnosing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Development and Behavioral Pediatrics, 25(1), 41-47.
37.
Wu, P., Hoven, C.W., Bird, H.R., Moore, R.E., Cohen, P., Alegria, M., et al. (1999). Depressive and disruptive disorders and mental health service utilization in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(9), 1081-1089.
