Validity of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder for younger children.
OBJECTIVE
Little is known about the validity of the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young children. Moreover, the results of the DSM-IV field trials raised concerns that inclusion of the new predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type of ADHD in DSM-IV might increase the likelihood of the diagnosis being given to active but unimpaired preschool and primary school children.


METHODS
The validity of DSM-IV criteria for each subtype of ADHD was evaluated in 126 children, aged 4 through 6 years, and 126 matched comparison children. Probands and controls were classified by using structured diagnostic interviews of the parent and a DSM-IV checklist completed by the teacher.


RESULTS
Children who met DSM-IV criteria for each subtype of ADHD according to parent and teacher reports differed consistently from controls on a wide range of measures of social and academic impairment, even when other types of psychopathology and other potential confounds were controlled.


CONCLUSIONS
When diagnosed by means of a structured diagnostic protocol, all three DSM-IV subtypes of ADHD are valid for 4- through 6-year-old children in the sense of identifying children with lower mean scores on measures of adaptive functioning that are independently associated with ADHD.
Lahey
B B
BB
Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Pelham
W E
WE
Stein
M A
MA
Loney
J
J
Trapani
C
C
Nugent
K
K
Kipp
H
H
Schmidt
E
E
Lee
S
S
Cale
M
M
Gold
E
E
Hartung
C M
CM
Willcutt
E
E
Baumann
B
B
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results