title: A multitrait-multisource confirmatory factor analytic approach to the construct validity of ADHD rating scales.
abstract: Confirmatory factor analysis was used to model a multitrait-multisource design to evaluate the construct validity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rating scales. The 2 trait factors were the ADHD inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity dimensions. The 2 source factors were parents and teachers. In Study 1, parents and teachers rated 1,475 Australian elementary school children on the ADHD symptoms. In Study 2, parents and teachers rated 285 Brazilian elementary school children on the ADHD symptoms. Similar results occurred in both studies with most of the ADHD symptoms containing more source than trait variance, thus providing weak evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the symptoms as measured by rating scales. The study outlines the implications of such strong source effects for understanding ADHD.
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Rapson
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: G Leonard
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Marcela Alves
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Moura
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires