Psychology and Neuroscience Faculty Database
Psychology and Neuroscience
Arts & Sciences
Duke University

 HOME > Arts & Sciences > pn > Faculty    Search Help Login pdf version printable version 

Publications [#330163] of Karen C. Wells

search PubMed.

Journal Articles

  1. Sibley, MH; Swanson, JM; Arnold, LE; Hechtman, LT; Owens, EB; Stehli, A; Abikoff, H; Hinshaw, SP; Molina, BSG; Mitchell, JT; Jensen, PS; Howard, AL; Lakes, KD; Pelham, WE; MTA Cooperative Group, (2017). Defining ADHD symptom persistence in adulthood: optimizing sensitivity and specificity.. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 58(6), 655-662. [doi]
    (last updated on 2023/06/01)

    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: Longitudinal studies of children diagnosed with ADHD report widely ranging ADHD persistence rates in adulthood (5-75%). This study documents how information source (parent vs. self-report), method (rating scale vs. interview), and symptom threshold (DSM vs. norm-based) influence reported ADHD persistence rates in adulthood. METHOD: Five hundred seventy-nine children were diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD-Combined Type at baseline (ages 7.0-9.9 years) 289 classmates served as a local normative comparison group (LNCG), 476 and 241 of whom respectively were evaluated in adulthood (Mean Age = 24.7). Parent and self-reports of symptoms and impairment on rating scales and structured interviews were used to investigate ADHD persistence in adulthood. RESULTS: Persistence rates were higher when using parent rather than self-reports, structured interviews rather than rating scales (for self-report but not parent report), and a norm-based (NB) threshold of 4 symptoms rather than DSM criteria. Receiver-Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses revealed that sensitivity and specificity were optimized by combining parent and self-reports on a rating scale and applying a NB threshold. CONCLUSION: The interview format optimizes young adult self-reporting when parent reports are not available. However, the combination of parent and self-reports from rating scales, using an 'or' rule and a NB threshold optimized the balance between sensitivity and specificity. With this definition, 60% of the ADHD group demonstrated symptom persistence and 41% met both symptom and impairment criteria in adulthood.


Duke University * Arts & Sciences * Faculty * Staff * Grad * Postdocs * Reload * Login