Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents: concurrent validity in ADHD children.
OBJECTIVE
The assessment of children's adaptive functioning has broad-range implications for clinical practice, research, and public health, and relatively few well-developed assessment instruments are available. The validity of the Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents (SAICA), a semistructured interview schedule that assesses adaptive functioning in children and adolescents, was examined.


METHODS
Two groups of index children were examined: 140 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children (both psychiatric and pediatric referrals) and 120 normal comparisons.


RESULTS
Concurrent validity was found for the SAICA in its significant association with the social competence scales of the Child Behavior Checklist and DSM-III-R's Global Assessment of Functioning. It was also found that among ADHD children, psychiatric comorbidity conferred an increased risk for worse adaptive functioning.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest the SAICA is an effective way to assess adaptive functioning. Moreover, its ability to discriminate ADHD from control children and its association with psychiatric comorbidity indicate the SAICA measures adaptive functioning within a range relevant for studies of psychopathology.
Biederman
J
J
Pediatric Psychopharmacology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
Faraone
S V
SV
Chen
W J
WJ
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012931:Social Environment