A single-source, principal-axis factor analysis of medical chart ratings of primary and secondary symptoms in 135 hyperkinetic/minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) boys resulted in two relatively independent symptom dimensions: Aggression, accounting for 44.6% of the factor variance, and Hyperactivity, accounting for 23.4%. Correlations between factor scores on these dimensions and descriptors from parent and teacher rating scales provided evidence for concurrent validity. The pattern of additional correlations between the Aggression and Hyperactivity factors and several demographic, psychometric, parenting, and treatment measures suggest the utility and necessity of considering both of these symptom dimensions in clinical research on the hyperkinetic/MBD syndrome. The use of the two symptom factors to form and study more homogeneous subgroups is also advised as a result of this multistage multivariate investigation.

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

C i t yRelationships among symptomatology, socioeconomic status, and parenting styles were examined for I I3 hyperkinetic/minimal brain dysfunction boys from intact families. Primary symptoms (e.g., hyperactivity) did not vary as a function of SES, but SES-related differences emerged for secondary symptoms (e.g., aggressive behavior, self-esteem deficits) and for parenting variables. Parenting variables were found to be better predictors of secondary symptoms than was SES. Implications for further research are o#ered.ver the course of the past 30 to 40 0 years, the relationship between

The major finding of this study is that the presence or absence of aggressive symptomatology differentiates a group of 84 six to twelve year-old Hyperkinetic/MBD boys on a number of important measures at initial referral, during treatment with methylphenidate, and at subsequent five-year-follow-up. When the sample is sorted into high and low aggression groups, several findings emerge which would otherwise have been obscured. Furthermore, there are no significant interactions between aggression (control deficits, negative affect, aggressive interpersonal behavior) and hypertactivity (judgment deficits, hyperactivity, inattention). The value of differentiating between exclusive hyperactivity with aggression) is indicated by the present study.

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