Symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in an Italian school sample: findings of a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to complete a teacher questionnaire on a sample of children (N = 232) in nine fourth grade classes in schools in two regions of central Italy to assess the frequency of occurrence of symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the rates of probable cases in the sample.


METHODS
Each ADHD symptom was rated by the teacher as either absent (0), sometimes present (1) or frequently present (2).


RESULTS
Of the children 3.9% had eight or more DSM-III-R Criterion A symptoms of ADHD scored at a "frequent" level (score of 2) and were considered to be "likely cases" of ADHD; an additional 6.9% did not meet this threshold but had a total score of 16 or more on the scale and were considered to be "possible cases."


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest the need for more systematic epidemiological investigations to evaluate the true prevalence of the syndrome and its risk factors in the Italian population.
Gallucci
F
F
Child Psychiatry Clinical Training Program, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Bird
H R
HR
Berardi
C
C
Gallai
V
V
Pfanner
P
P
Weinberg
A
A
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012917:Social Adjustment