Development of a Short Version of the ADHD Rating Scale-IV.es (sADHD-RS-IV.es)

Abstract

Objective: To develop a short version of the Spanish 18-item ADHD-Rating Scale IV.es (sADHD-RS-IV.es) to be used as a potential screening tool in pediatric population. Methods: We recruited 652 subjects, ages 6 to 18 (mean ±  SD = 11.14 ± 3.27): 518 patients with ADHD (per DSM-IV criteria); and 134 healthy controls. We performed a stepwise logistic regression to select the best subset of ADHD-RS-IV.es items to create a short-form. We calculated internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s and ordinal alphas) and diagnostic accuracy using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: Six items were found to enter the stepwise analysis significantly. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86; ordinal alpha = 0.90) and offered a good concordance with clinician diagnosis and a high discriminatory power (AUC = 0.98) with an optimal cut-off at a score of six points. Conclusions: This shorter questionnaire (six items) was able to discriminate ADHD cases from healthy controls.