Tools for the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults. Self-rating behaviour questionnaire and diagnostic checklist

• Published in: Nervenarzt 2004-09, Vol.75 (9), p.888-895
• Main Authors: Rösler, M, Retz, W, Retz-Junginger, P, Thome, J, Supprian, T, Nissen, T, Stieglitz, R-D, Blocher, D, Hengesch, G, Trott, G E
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• Subjects: Adult; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Humans; International Classification of Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data; Reproducibility of Results; Statistics as Topic; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0028-2804
• DOI: 10.1007/s00115-003-1622-2

We report on the development of a German self-rating behaviour questionnaire (ADHD-SR) and diagnostic checklist (ADHD-DC) for the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults according to DSM IV and ICD 10 research criteria. When comparing self-rating with expert rating, we found good concordance measured by intraclass coefficients on the level of single symptoms and syndrome scores. High retest reliability of the ADHD-SR demonstrated the ability to assess time-stable behaviour traits. Evaluation of the psychometric properties revealed good internal consistency and adequate convergent and divergent validity measured by the "big five" derived from the NEO-FFI and the constructs impulsivity, venturesomeness, and empathy of Eysenck's impulsiveness questionnaire. We detected a remarkable correlation with the Wender Utah Rating Scale, which targets the detection of childhood ADHD symptoms. Diagnostic sensitivity for different cutoff points was calculated by ROC analysis at 65--88%. Specificity was 67% to 92%.