Gender Differences in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children in a Large Group of Italian Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Despite being repeatedly investigated in children with typical development, research on gender differences in intellectual abilities in specific groups of children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been scarce. In this paper, we evaluated the performance of a large group of Italian children with ADHD using the WISC-IV. We aimed at investigating the presence of gender differences using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis approach. Results showed that the WISC is largely gender-invariant. However, some tasks present non-invariant patterns (block design and coding). Differences at the latent level also showed some differences (favoring boys) in the verbal comprehension index. Conversely, differences at the latent level were not found in the full-scale IQ or in the other main indices. These results have theoretical and practical implications.

Development and Content Validation of a Clinical Screening Scale to Identify Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Considering the Gender Perspective: An eDelphi Study

“…However, many of the instruments used lack a gender perspective, which highlights the need for tools that are sensitive to the symptomatology presented in girls, as demonstrated by the extensive literature [44]. Some of the most widely used and specific scales for the detection and diagnosis of ADHD do not differentiate between boys and girls [14] or existing instruments are analysed according to gender to make them more reliable in their discriminative function [45,46].…”