Parent –clinician agreement in rating the presence and severity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms

AbstractWe determined the validity of a parent-report questionnaire as a research tool for rating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children. Using Cohen ’s kappa and Pearson correlation, we examined the agreement between parent reports of ADHD symptoms (using the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham Questionnaire-IV; SNAP-IV) and clinical judgment (using a semi-structured parent interview). Also, we explored factors that may be associated with the level of a greement, using regression analyses. We found moderate levels of agreement for severity of overall ADHD (r = 0.43) and for hyperactive-impulsive symptoms (r = 0.54), but no significant agreement for inattentive symptoms. On individual symptom level (range kappa = − 0.05–0.22) and for the presence/absence of ADHD (kappa = 0.14), agreement was poor. Therefore, we conclude that parent-report questionnaires may be acceptable to rate the o verall severity of ADHD symptoms in treatment effect studies, but not to detect the presence of ADHD in epidemiological studies.

Source: ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders - February 28, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research