Validation of the ADHD Rating Scale as a clirlician administered and scored instrument

Abstract

There are several parent- and teacher-scored rating scales that are validated and available for assessing the severity of ADHD symptoms in pediatric populations. However, we are not aware of any symptom severity rating scales with published validation results when administered and scored by clinicians following a semi-structured interview with the parent or guardian. In a recent clinical trial, in order to have consistency in assessing entry severity criteria and changes in symptom severity over time across patients, we used the ADHD Rating Scale, administered and scored by trained clinicians. Using data from this trial, we assessed the validity and reliability of the ADHD Rating Scale when completed by trained clinicians based on interviews with parents. Results Indicate that this version of the scale has acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and responsiveness. The psychometric properties were comparable to other validated scales for assessing ADHD symptom severity. Overall, this study supports the use of the ADHD Rating Scale as a clinician administered and scored tool for assessing the severity of ADHD symptoms in pediatric patients.