Multi-rater developmental trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from 1.5 to 17 years: a...

The developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from infancy to adolescence has not been documented in a population sample. The aim of this study was to describe the developmental course of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from 1.5 to 17 years using multiple informants, and to identify perinatal risk factors associated with following elevated (high-risk) trajectories. Using a population-based birth cohort (n = 1374), symptom ratings from mothers (1.5-8 years), teachers (6-13 years) and participant self-reports (10-17 years) were combined using group-based multi-trajectory modeling to identify informants' convergence in identifying high-symptom trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention over time. Perinatal risk factors associated with high-symptom trajectories were identified using stepwise logistic regression. The study found that symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity broadly declined from 1.5 to 17 years while symptoms of inattention remained constant. 21.4% of participants followed elevated trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity and 20.2% followed elevated trajectories of inattention; 11.6% followed elevated trajectories of both types of symptoms concurrently. Risk factors for high-risk trajectories of hyperactivity-impulsivity were low maternal education, prenatal alcohol exposure, non-intact family, maternal depression, and low child IQ; for high-risk inattention they were prenatal street drug exposure, early motherhood, low maternal education, maternal depression and low child IQ. Risk factors for trajectories of high-risk hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention concurrently were low maternal education, maternal depression, and low child IQ. The combination of longitudinal assessments from multiple informants (i.e., mother, teacher, participant-reports) provides a new way to characterize hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention phenotypes over time.