Assessing expressed emotion in mothers of preschool AD/HD children: Psychometric properties of a modified speech sample

Objective: To examine the reliability and validity of a modified coding measure of expressed emotion (Preschool Five Minute Speech Sample [PFMSS]), suitable for parents of preschool AD/HD children. Design: Mothers of preschool AD/HD children identified through a three‐stage screening programme were compared with mothers of non‐AD/HD children on the PFMSS. Method: Mothers of 80 AD/HD and 20 non‐AD/HD children participated in the PFMSS. They had 10 mins of play interaction with their child and completed the Feelings on Parenting scales from the Family Impact Questionnaire. Results: With the exception of emotional over‐involvement, the PFMSS demonstrated acceptable code‐recode and inter‐rater reliability, and adequate test‐retest reliability. It also demonstrated acceptable validity, being associated with less affection and greater maternal direction during play interaction and discriminated between the parents of preschool AD/HD and non‐AD/HD children. Conclusion: This study shows that in a revised form, the Five Minute Speech Sample can provide a useful measure of expressed emotion during the preschool period.