The child behavior checklist together with the ADHD rating scale can diagnose ADHD in Korean community-based samples.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical validities and efficiencies of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (ARS) in identifying children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Korean community-based samples.


METHODS
A large sample of elementary school students (n = 1668) participated in this study. We used the CBCL and the ARS as the screening instruments. Diagnoses were determined by clinical psychiatric interviews and confirmed by DSM-IV-based structured interviews.


RESULTS
Of the 46 subjects who underwent clinical psychiatric interviews, 33 were diagnosed as having ADHD. A T score of 60 with regard to the Attention Problems profile of the CBCL resulted in a reasonable level of sensitivity or positive predictive value in the diagnosis of ADHD. In both the parent and teacher reports of the ARS, 90th percentile cut-off points resulted in a high level of predictive value. The highest levels of specificity and positive predictive value were obtained when we combined the CBCL (T > or = 60 in Attention Problems) and the ARS (parent-teacher total > or = 90th percentile) reports.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that the combined use of the CBCL and the ARS could serve as a rapid and useful clinical method of predicting or even diagnosing children with ADHD in epidemiologic case definitions.
Kim
Jae-won
JW
Maeumsarang Hospital, Wanju-Gun, Jeonbuk, Korea. jaewon412@korea.com
Park
Ki-hong
KH
Cheon
Keun-ah
KA
Kim
Boong-nyun
BN
Cho
Soo-churl
SC
Hong
Kang-E Michael
KE
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires