Impact of parent and teacher concordance on diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its sub-types

This study examines the extent to which parents and teachers agree on the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its subtypes, as per the DSM IV criteria. It assesses whether the extent of agreement between informants improves by making the ADHD criteria more flexible.

Parents and teachers of 119 clinic-referred sample of children (mean age=8.4 years, S.D= 2.48) with disruptive behavioral symptoms completed the Vanderbilt Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnostic Parent and Teacher Rating Scales, respectively. Concordance of parent and teacher reports for the presence or absence of diagnosis of ADHD and type of ADHD was examined by percent agreement and the kappa statistics.

Of the 119 children referred for disruptive behavior disorders, 96 (80.6%) met criteria for any type of ADHD according to the parents' report; and only 68 (57.1%) met criteria according to the teachers' report. Parent and teacher agreement for the diagnosis of any type of ADHD was only 52% (k= .11, n.s); and the agreement regarding diagnosis of sub-type was even poorer. Making the criteria more flexible vis-à-vis impairment or number of symptoms did not improve agreement between the informants.

Clear guidelines are needed to reconcile the differences between informants in order to promote uniform diagnostic practices among clinicians working with children having ADHD.