ERIC Number: EJ796467
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jul
Pages: 8
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0091-0627
EISSN: N/A
The Impact of Impairment Criteria on Rates of ADHD Diagnoses in Preschoolers
Healey, Dione M.; Miller, Carlin J.; Castelli, Katia L.; Marks, David J.; Halperin, Jeffrey M.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, v36 n5 p771-778 Jul 2008
Behaviors characteristic of ADHD are common among preschool children, and as such, their clinical significance is oftentimes difficult to ascertain. Thus a focus on impairment is essential in determining the clinical significance of these behaviors. In order to explore the impact of impairment criteria on rates of diagnoses in inattentive/hyperactive children aged 36 through 60-months-old, we first developed, and psychometrically evaluated, the Children's Problem Checklist (CPC) which was designed to assess psychosocial impairment associated with ADHD in a community sample of preschoolers (n=394), and found its reliability and validity to be acceptable. We then examined the impact of the inclusion of various CPC-determined impairment criteria, over and above symptom criteria measured by the ADHD-RS-IV, using various cut points ranging from the 75th to 90th percentile of our community sample. This reduced the number of children meeting criteria for ADHD by 46-77%. These findings are discussed in terms of the importance of using impairment criteria, rather than just severity of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, when diagnosing ADHD in preschool children.
Descriptors: Hyperactivity, Evaluation Criteria, Clinical Diagnosis, Preschool Children, Attention Deficit Disorders, Check Lists, Psychometrics, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Conceptual Tempo, Measures (Individuals)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A