Conceptual Structure of the Symptoms of Adult ADHD According to the DSM-IV and Retrospective Wender-Utah Criteria

Abstract

Objective: Adult Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) and retrospective childhood Wender-Utah ADHD criteria are implemented in self-report measures to assess adult ADHD and its required onset in childhood. Yet their dimensional structure and relationship to adult ADHD depressivity is still at debate. Therefore, both aspects were investigated, applying two respective German instruments (ADHD–Self-Report [ADHD-SR] and Wender Utah Rating Scale–German [WURS-G]) to two student samples. Method: ADHD-SR and WURS-G dimensions were identified by nonlinear confirmatory factor analyses, and their interrelations and relationship with adult depressivity were identified by structural equation modeling. Results: Adult ADHD-SR symptoms were organized into inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, and WURS-G symptoms were organized into inattention/hyperactivity, affect lability, depressivity, and conduct problems. Yet only the first two WURS factors directly affected adult ADHD facets, though childhood depressivity influenced them indirectly via adult depressivity. Conclusion: Only criteria of the first two WURS factors can be considered valid childhood ADHD indicators. Thus, only they should be used as an aid in the retrospective assessment of ADHD symptoms.

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