Validating a Self-Report Screen for ADHD in Early Adulthood Using Childhood Parent and Teacher Ratings

Objective: This article evaluates the diagnostic utility of a self-report screening tool for adults based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) ADHD criteria. Method: Children with speech/language (S/L) impairment and typically developing controls had ADHD symptoms rated by parents and teachers at ages 5 and 12. At age 19, participants completed the Adult Attention Problems Scale (AAPS), an 18-item screen. Receiver operative characteristic curve analyses were used to assess the efficiency of this instrument in screening for ADHD. Results: The AAPS had moderate sensitivity and high specificity, but only for adults without a history of communication disorders. Conclusion: The AAPS provides clinicians with the only self-report scales for ADHD in adulthood, validated with childhood ADHD symptoms assessed by multiple raters. However, scale characteristics were poor for the S/L-impaired cohort. Given the overlap between language impairment and ADHD, adult ADHD measures validated in S/L-impaired samples are needed.