A cross-cultural comparison between samples of Brazilian and German children with ADHD/HD using the Child Behavior Checklist.
BACKGROUND
This study aims to assess cross-cultural similarities and differences in broadband psychopathology in two naturalistic clinical samples of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) combined type according to DSM-IV criteria or with Hyperkinetic Disorder (HD) according to ICD-10 criteria.


METHODS
We compared two clinical samples of children with ADHD combined type (Brazil, N=248) and HD (Germany; N=154) to controls (Brazil N=71; Germany N=135) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). ROC-curves (Receiver Operating Characteristic) were determined to evaluate the discriminating validity of the CBCL Attention Problem scale. A two-factorial ANOVA was computed across all 8 scales of the CBCL.


RESULTS
Although Brazilian parents reported significantly higher scores on all CBCL scales than German parents (P<0.05), a similar CBCL profile was detected in both cultures.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the use of different diagnostic systems (DSM-IV vs. ICD-10) and the presence of other clinical differences, the similar broadband psychopathological profile of the CBCL in the two samples provides evidence that dimensional symptoms associated with the categorical diagnosis of ADHD combined type might be comparable in two clinical settings with diverse cultural background.
Roessner
Veit
V
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
Becker
Andreas
A
Rothenberger
Aribert
A
Rohde
Luis Augusto
LA
Banaschewski
Tobias
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012372:ROC Curve; D012737:Sex Factors