Optimal informants on childhood disruptive behaviors

Abstract

The question of which informant on childhood behavior disorders is the most useful an'd valid for which disorders influences diagnostic accuracy and research findings. The present study focuses on 177 boys, most of whom had been referred to outpatient services because they were displaying disruptive behavior. The boys, their mothers, and their teachers responded to a psychiatric interview concerning the boys' behavior. Analyses of conditional agreements between informants show that children, as compared with mothers and teachers, were less adequate informants on their own hyperactivity and inattentiveness. The same applied to children's reports of their own oppositional behavior. In contrast, children's reports of their conduct problems tended to complement the reports by adults. Although informants agreed significantly on the presence of many disruptive child behaviors, there were several on which they did not agree, particularly in the realm of hyperactivity/inattentiveness. There were few age differences between older and younger boys in this sample of 7- to 12-year-olds. The implications of the findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.

Which Executive Functioning Deficits Are Associated With AD/HD, ODD/CD and Comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD?

“…For example, Riccio and colleagues (1994) found that teacher ratings of AD/HD and other behavioral problems predicted performance on the WCST, whereas parent ratings failed to do so. The present result also fits with the finding that teachers, as opposed to children and parents, are the optimal informants for AD/HD symptoms (Loeber, Green, & Lahey, 1990;Loeber, Green, Lahey, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1989;Loeber et al, 1991;Power et al, 1998).…”

Speed of Inhibition Predicts Teacher‐rated Medication Response in Boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

“…Riccio, Hynd, Cohen, and Gonzalez (1993) found that teacher ratings of ADHD and other behavioural problems predicted performance on a measure of set-shifting, whereas parent ratings failed to do so. Together with these earlier studies, the present study fits with the finding that teachers, as opposed to children and parents, are the optimal informants for ADHD symptoms (Loeber, Green, & Lahey, 1990;Loeber, Green, Lahey, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1989, 1991Power et al, 1998).…”

Informant Discrepancies in the Assessment of Childhood Psychopathology: A Critical Review, Theoretical Framework, and Recommendations for Further Study.

“…One of these studies examined informant agreement with regard to individual symptoms and found moderate-to-high levels of parent-teacher agreement on individual symptoms regarding schoolwork (Loeber et al, 1989). Occasionally, the findings have been moderated by child and family characteristics (e.g., child age, child gender, children's social desirability, family conflict; Edelbrock et al, 1986;Grills & Ollendick, 2003), although informant agreement generally remains in the low-to-moderate range despite the influence of these informant characteristics on levels of agreement.…”

“…For instance, a meta-analysis found that mother-father agreement was significantly higher than either parent-child or teacher-child agreement (Achenbach et al, 1987). Moreover, studies examining the discrepancies among informants' ratings in samples of clinicreferred children, or children referred for school-based programs, have found that the ratings of parents and teachers evidence higher levels of agreement than comparisons of ratings between parents and children, and teachers and children (e.g., Lee, Elliot, & Barbour, 1994;Loeber et al, 1989Loeber et al, , 1991. However, no statistical comparisons among pairs of informants were made in these studies.…”

“…One of these studies examined informant agreement with regard to individual symptoms and found moderate-to-high levels of parent-teacher agreement on individual symptoms regarding schoolwork (Loeber et al, 1989). Occasionally, the findings have been moderated by child and family characteristics (e.g., child age, child gender, children's social desirability, family conflict; Edelbrock et al, 1986;Grills & Ollendick, 2003), although informant agreement generally remains in the low-to-moderate range despite the influence of these informant characteristics on levels of agreement.With regard to informants' ratings of childhood oppositional behavior, prior work has generally revealed low-to-moderate levels of informant agreement (Edelbrock et al, 1986;Jensen et al, 1999;Kashani et al, 1985;Loeber et al, 1989;Offord et al, 1996;Williams et al, 1989). One of these studies examined informant agreement with regard to individual symptoms and found moderate-to-high levels of parent-teacher agreement on individual symptoms regarding school problems and arguments with teachers (Loeber et al, 1989).…”