A (actor analysis was performed on measures of the most widely agreed upon primary or core symptoms of hyperkinesis in a group of 94 boys seen at a child psychiatry clinic between 1967 and 1972. The three resulting stable factors accounted for 64% of the variance, and each was defined mainly by variables from a particular source of information. Sources included psychiatrists, chart raters, teachers, and parents. Inspection and a reanalysis of other multivariale studies of minimal brain dysfunction/hyperkinesis (MBD/HK) indicated that source-related rather than symptom-related factors typically result. It was suggested that the situational specificity of behaviors in MBD/HK children may contribute to the relative unfruitfulness of such studies. Suggestions for further multivariate research on this problem were made.Hyperkinesis is a childhood behavior disorder which has generated substantial interest in recent years, partially because of its prevalence. An estimated 4%~10% of all school-age children, mostly boys, are affected, and approximately 50% of all childhood behavior disorder referrals are for hyperactivity (Chess
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