A new rating scale for adult ADHD based on the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90-R).
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is increasingly recognized as a clinically important syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric performance of a new scale for adult ADHD based on the widely used Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R). Scale performance was assessed in a clinical study including 100 ADHD patients and 65 opiate-dependent patient controls, and in the Zurich study, an epidemiological age cohort followed over 30 years of adult life. Assessments included a ROC analysis of sensitivity and specificity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, external validity and measurement invariance over nine testing occasions. The new scale showed a sensitivity and specificity of 75 and 54%, respectively, internal consistency over 0.8 (McDonald's omega, Cronbach's alpha), one-year test-retest reliabilities over 0.7, statistically significant and substantial correlations with two other validated self-rating scales of adult ADHD (R = 0.5 and 0.66, respectively), and an acceptable degree of longitudinal stability (i.e., measurement invariance). The proposed scale must be further evaluated, but these preliminary results indicate it could be a useful rating instrument for adult ADHD in situations where SCL-90-R data, but no specific ADHD assessment, are available, such as in retrospective data analysis or in prospective studies with limited methodical resources.
Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Lenggstr. 31, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland. dominique.eich@puk.zh.ch
Dominique
D
Eich
Jules
J
Angst
Anja
A
Frei
Vladeta
V
Ajdacic-Gross
Wulf
W
Rössler
Alex
A
Gamma
D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires