Objective: To investigate agreement rates between parent and self-report on childhood symptoms of ADHD. Method: Sixty-eight self-referred treatment-naïve adults (33 men, 35 women) were interviewed with a modified version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia—Epidemiological Version (K-SADS-E) and asked about past ADHD symptoms, using modified Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition; DSM-IV) criteria (at least six symptoms in either domain for present and past symptoms). Parents were given a questionnaire with DSM-IV symptoms list. Results: Forty-six patients (67.6%) agreed on the presence of past ADHD diagnosis with their parents; there was agreement on subtype in more than half of cases (58.7%). Fifty patients (73.5%) reported positive past inattention symptomatology, and 31 of them (62.0%) agreed with their parents on their presence in childhood. Thirty-six patients (52.9%) reported positive hyperactivity—impulsivity symptomatology, and 20 of them (55.6%) agreed with their parents' reports. Conclusions: Results suggest retrospective information provided by adults with ADHD has moderate agreement rates with parents' reports for both domains. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 12(1) 70-75)
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
2.
Applegate, B., Lahey, B.B., Hart, E.L., Biederman, J., Hynd, G.W., Barkley, R.A., et al. (1997). Validity of the age-of-onset criterion for ADHD: A report from the DSM-IV field trials. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1211-1221.
3.
Barkley, R.A., & Biederman, J. (1997). Toward a broader definition of the age-of-onset criterion for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1204-1210.
4.
Barkley, R.A., & Murphy, R. (1998). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A clinical handbook. New York: Guilford.
5.
Barkley, R., Smallish, M., & Fletcher, K. (2002). The persistence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder into young adulthood as a function of reporting source and definition of disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(2), 279-289.
6.
Faraone, S.V., Biederman, J., Feighner, J.A., & Monuteaux, M.C. (2000). Assessing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults: Which is more valid ? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 830-852.
7.
Faraone, S.V., Biederman, J., Spencer, T., Wilens, T., Seidman, L.J., Mick, E., et al. (2000). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults: An overview. Biological Psychiatry, 48, 9-20.
8.
Grevet, E.H., Bau, C.H., Salgado, C.A., Fischer, A., Victor, M.M., Garcia, C., et al. (2005). Interrater reliability for diagnosis in adults of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder using K-SADS-E. Arquivos de Neuropsiquiatria, 63(2A), 307-310.
9.
Henry, B., Moffitt, T.E., Caspi, A., Langley, J., & Silva, P.A. (1994). On the "remembrance of things past": A longitudinal evaluation of the retrospective method. Psychological Assessment , 6, 92-101.
10.
Hesslinger, B., Tebartz, L., Mochan, F., & Ebert, D. (2003). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults-Early vs. late onset in a retrospective study. Psychiatry Research , 119, 217-223.
11.
Lewandowski, L., Codding, R., Gordon, M., Marcoe, M., Needham, L., & Rentas, J. (2000). Self reported LD and ADHD symptoms in college students. The ADHD Report, 8(6), 1-4.
12.
Magnússon, P., Smári, J., Baldursson, D.S., Kristjánsson, J.S., Sigurbjornsdóttir, S.H., & Guomundsson, O.O. (2006). Validity of self-report and informant rating scales of adult ADHD symptoms in comparison with a semistructured diagnostic interview. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9(3), 494-503.
13.
Mannuzza, S., Klein, R., Bessler, A., Malloy, P., & LaPadula, M. (1998). Adult psychiatric status of hyperactive boys grown up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 493-498.
14.
Mannuzza, S., Klein, R.G., Klein, D.F., Bessler, A., & Shrout, P. (2002). Accuracy of adult recall of childhood attention hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1882-1888.
15.
Mattos, P., Palmini, A., Salgado, C., Segenreich, D., Grevet, E., Oliveira, I., et al. (2006). Brazilian consensus of specialists on the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults. Revista de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul, 28, 50-60.
16.
Mattos, P., Segenreich, D., Saboya, E., Louzã, M., Dias, G., & Romano, M. (2006). Transcultural adaptation of the Adult Self-Report Scale into Portuguese for evaluation of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Revista de Psiquiatria Clinica, 33(4), 188-194.
17.
McGough, J.J., & Barkley, R.A. (2004). Diagnostic controversies in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1948-1956.
18.
Murphy, P., & Scharchar, R. (2000). Use of self-ratings in the assessment of symptoms of attention hyperactivity disorder in adults. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1156-1159.
19.
Spencer, T., Biederman, J., Wilens, T., Doyle, R., Surman, C., Prince, J., et al. (2005). A large, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of methylphenidate in the treatment of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 456-463.
20.
Spitzer, R.L., Davies, M., & Barkley, R.A. (1990). The DSM-III-R field trial of disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2, 690-697.
21.
Ward, M.F., Wender, P.H., & Reimherr, F.W. (1993). The Wender Utah Rating Scale: An aid in the retrospective diagnosis of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150(6), 885-890.
22.
Weiss, M., & Murray, C. (2003). Assessment and management of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 168, 715-722.
23.
Weiss, G., & Hechtman, L.T. (1993). Hyperactive children grown up (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
24.
Wilens, T.E., Biederman, J., & Spencer, T.J. (2002). Attention deficity hyperactivity disorder across the lifespan. Annual Review of Medicine, 53, 113-131.
25.
Willoughby, M.T., Curran, P.J., Costello, E.J., & Angold, A. (2000). Implications of early versus late onset of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1512-1519.
26.
Zucker, M., Morris, M.K., Ingram, S.M., Morris, R.D., & Bakeman, R. (2002). Concordance of self and informant ratings of adults' current and childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Psychological Assessment, 14, 379-389.
