Estimated Prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Sample of Panamanian School-Aged Children

Abstract

The present study investigated the prevalence of ADHD in a school sample of children ages 6-11 years in the city of Panama. The assessment battery included the Conners' Parent and Teacher Rating Scales, the Structured Developmental History of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC-2), and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III). The prevalence of ADHD (N = 229) was 7.4%, with an estimate of 1.8% for the predominantly inattentive subtype, 3.1% for the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive subtype, and 2.6% for the combined subtype. The prevalence rate of ADHD is relatively low in Panama compared to those reported for samples in neighboring countries. Moreover, ADHD children were unlikely to have been identified or referred to psychological or special education assessments. Our findings confirm that ADHD is overlooked in some cultures and that a significant number of children with ADHD-related impairments are not receiving optimal intervention.