title: Self-reported symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: rate of endorsement and association with neuropsychological performance in an adult psychiatric sample.
abstract: The lack of specificity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms represents a diagnostic challenge, especially when assessing psychiatric patients reporting a wide range of complaints. Rate of endorsement of ADHD symptoms, and their association with neuropsychological performance, was examined in a psychiatric sample of 71 adults, who had been referred for a neuropsychological evaluation. Patients completed two self-report measures of ADHD symptoms, the ADHD Self-Report Scale (ADHD-SR) and the Wender Utah Rating Scale-Short Form, as well as measures of attention, executive functioning, visuoconstructional ability, and verbal learning and memory. On the ADHD-SR, 74.6% of the sample met the cutoff for inattention or hyperactivity, while 81.7% met the cutoff for impulsivity. Neuropsychological performance was weakly associated with self-reported symptoms. Our results suggest that psychiatric patients commonly report symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Assessment utilizing multiple sources is necessary to confirm whether self-reported symptoms are indicative of ADHD or reflect other causes.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany b.schneider@uke.de.
authors: Brooke C
authors: BC
authors: Schneider
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Thoering
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Cludius
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors: Steffen
authors: S
authors: Moritz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D057566:Self Report; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ADHD; Assessment; Comorbidity; Differential diagnosis; Prevalence