Attention Problems Scale Research Articles

Child Behavior Checklist Findings Further Support Comorbidity between ADHD and Major Depression in a Referred Sample

To examine the convergence of categorical and empirical diagnostic systems to evaluate whether psychiatric comorbidity of juvenile major depression with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is due to assessment bias. Using total predictive value and the odds ratio, the authors evaluated the convergence of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scales with structured interview-derived diagnoses in 94 children with major depression, 97 with ADHD, and 115 normal control children with neither diagnosis. The CBCL Anxious/Depressed scale discriminated depressed from nondepressed children irrespective of comorbidity with ADHD, and the Attention Problems scale discriminated ADHD from non-ADHD children irrespective of comorbidity with major depression. Children with major depression comorbid with ADHD had CBCL correlates of both syndromes. Since the CBCL is an empirically derived taxonomic system, the correspondence between the content-congruent CBCL scales and DSM-III-R categorical diagnoses of major depression and of ADHD indicates that previously reported findings of high overlap between these two disorders using structured diagnostic interview methodology and trained raters were not due to rater biases.

Twenty-One—Month Follow-up Study of School-Age Children Exposed to Hurricane Andrew

To explore the 21-month course of posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) and psychological morbidity in 30 school-age children (7 to 13 years) after exposure to Hurricane Andrew. Pynoos' Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index and Achenbach's Teacher's Report Form were administered at 8 and 21 months after Hurricane Andrew. At 21 months 70% of the children endorsed moderate-severe PTSS. The reduction in PTSS was greater for boys than girls. Psychopathology as measured by the Teacher's Report Form increased over the 19-month period. Boys demonstrated significant increases in internalizing symptoms and in Withdrawn, Anxious/Depressed, Social Problems, and Attention Problems scales, and girls showed a significant increase in the Anxious/Depressed scale. Twenty-one months after exposure to Hurricane Andrew, there were continuing high levels of PTSS and evidence of increasing emotional and behavioral problems. While girls sustained higher levels of PTSS, boys demonstrated higher indices of other psychopathology. The enduring effects of disaster associated with secondary stressors and "traumatic reminders" continue to be etiologically important for continuing psychological morbidity.

Behavioral phenotype in children with Turner syndrome.

Compared Child Behavior Checklist results in 103 girls with Turner syndrome (TS) ages 7 to 13 years and 52 age-matched normal girls. Subjects with TS were part of a national study in Canada to evaluate growth hormone therapy in TS. Present data were obtained at baseline. Girls with TS scored below the comparison group in Total Social Competence (p < .0001), and above it in Total Behavior Problems (p < .05), Social (p < .0001), and Attention Problems (p < .001) scales. Item analysis revealed that subjects with TS were more immature, hyperactive, and nervous, and had poorer peer relations, greater difficulty at schooling, and more problems concentrating. In children with TS, height was correlated with social competence while karyotypes involving structural abnormalities of the X chromosome were associated with more behavior problems than a missing X or mosaicism.

Convergence of the Child Behavior Checklist with structured interview-based psychiatric diagnoses of ADHD children with and without comorbidity.

We evaluated the convergence of CBCL scales with the diagnosis of ADHD and comorbid disorders in 133 ADHD and 118 normal control boys, aged 6-17 years old. We evaluated the strength of association between each CBCL scale and structured-interview derived diagnoses with Total Predictive Value (TPV) and the odds-ratio (OR). Excellent convergence was found between the CBCL Attention Problems scale with the diagnosis of ADHD, between the Delinquent Behavior scale and the diagnosis of CD, and between the Anxiety/Depression scale and the diagnoses of Anxiety Disorders. These findings indicate that the CBCL could serve as a rapid and useful screening instrument to identify comorbid and non-comorbid cases of ADHD.