Use of the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Rating Scale with Preschool Children

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder among children and is usually diagnosed during the school years, although symptoms must be present before age 7. As more children enter into preschool programs, there is great opportunity for early identification and treatment of behaviors related to ADHD. The earlier children with symptoms of ADHD are treated, the better their chances of having successful school experiences. Unfortunately, diagnosing ADHD during early childhood is difficult, in part because there is a lack of adequate assessment instruments designed for this age group. The instruments that are available generally do not focus specifically on ADHD symptomology. The ADHD-SRS, a rating scale specifically developed for ADHD assessment, was designed for school-age (K-12) children. The present research study investigated the psychometric properties of the ADHD-SRS with a preschool-aged sample. The participants were 414 preschool children who were rated by their teachers and/or parents using the ADHD-SRS. The results shed some light on normative levels of ADHD behaviors in preschool children. It was found that the ADHD-SRS has good psychometric characteristics (e.g., internal consistency, convergent/divergent validity) for this population. Teacher and parent concordance was moderate (.31), consistent with other research findings. Limitations, clinical implications, and directions for future research are addressed