RESUMEN
The use of screening tools is an eï¬ective and practical approach within the clinical diagnostic assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. Existing screening measures for adult ADHD have focused on a younger population. Subsequently, the current study aimed to evaluate the utility and general usability of an adapted four-item screening tool for adult ADHD: a brief version of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS-brief), within a middle-aged population. The sample consisted of 69 adults, aged between 30 and 63 (age M= 45, SD=6.95), who had been referred to a specialist adult ADHD outpatients clinic. Using factor analysis, the WURS-brief screening measure was compared to existing ADHD diagnostic tools that were used as reference measures within the analysis. The WURS-brief had respectable sensitivity when compared with existing diagnostic tools. This study highlights the importance of validating brief screening measures for middle-aged adults with ADHD within clinical settings and oï¬ers suggestions for future research.
El uso de herramientas de detección es un enfoque efectivo y práctico dentro de la evaluación de diagnóstico clínico del trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH) en adultos. Las medidas de detección existentes para el TDAH en adultos se han centrado en una población más joven. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la utilidad y la usabilidad general de una herramienta de detección de cuatro ítems adaptada para el TDAH en adultos: una versión breve de la Escala de Calificación Wender Utah (WURS-brief), dentro de una población de mediana edad. La muestra consistió en 69 adultos, con edades comprendidas entre 30 y 63 años (edad M = 45, DE = 6.95), que habían sido remitidos a una clínica especializada para pacientes externos con TDAH en adultos. Mediante el análisis factorial, la medida de detección breve de WURS se comparó con las herramientas de diagnóstico de TDAH existentes que se utilizaron como medidas de referencia dentro del análisis. El WURS-brief tenía una sensibilidad respetable en comparación con las herramientas de diagnóstico existentes. Este estudio destaca la importancia de validar breves medidas de detección para adultos de mediana edad con TDAH dentro de entornos clínicos y ofrece sugerencias para futuras investigaciones.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Multiple studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have recognised a heritability factor in that a higher frequency of the disorder is observed in children with an affected relative. Our aim was to determine the association between ADHD symptoms in young children enrolled in five schools in Bogota and a history of ADHD symptoms in their parents using the Wender-Utah Rating Scale. METHODOLOGY: Case-control study of participants selected according to DSM-IV criteria for ADHD and the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC) completed by parents and teachers; the WISC-IV scale was used to exclude children with cognitive deficit. Parents completed the Wender-Utah Rating Scale to retrospectively identify any ADHD symptoms in childhood. A score of 36 was used as a cutoff point. RESULTS: The study included 202 children: 117 cases and 85 controls. A positive history of ADHD symptoms in childhood was identified for 16% of 175 mothers and 20.6% of 141 fathers. The presence of symptoms in either parent, especially the mother, constitutes a significant risk factor for ADHD in children and this relationship persists after controlling for different variables. If both parents have the disorder, the risk tends to increase. CONCLUSION: Although ADHD has been linked to a genetic component, other environmental factors may be involved in the disorder.