Predicting ADHD in school age when using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in preschool age: a longitudinal general population study, CCC2000

Abstract

Indicated prevention of ADHD may reduce impairment and need of treatment in youth. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief questionnaire assessing child mental health, reported to be a valid screening instrument for concurrent ADHD. This study aimed to examine the validity of using the SDQ in preschool age to predict ADHD in school age in a longitudinal design. The study population included 2,315 children from the Copenhagen child cohort 2000 with no prior history of clinically diagnosed ADHD, who were assessed at age 5-7 years by the SDQ completed by parents and preschool teachers. Danish National Registers were used to measure the outcome of any first time ICD-10 diagnosis for hyperkinetic disorder or attention-deficit disorder and/or prescription of central stimulants during years 2005-2012. Screening potentials of the SDQ's predictive algorithms were described, and Cox regression analyses estimated the risk of later ADHD diagnosis for screen-positive children. A total of 2.94% of the study population were clinically diagnosed and/or were treated with central stimulants for ADHD before age 11-12. Children with possible/probable disorder according to the SDQ hyperactivity/inattention algorithm showed markedly increased risk of a subsequent ADHD diagnosis, hazard ratio 20.65 (CI 95% 12.71-33.57) and sensitivity 45.6%. Other domains of psychopathology according to the SDQ were also associated with an increased risk of receiving a subsequent ADHD diagnosis. In summary, we show that the SDQ can identify a group of children with highly increased risk of later being diagnosed and/or treated for ADHD in school age.

Subthreshold and threshold attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in childhood: psychosocial outcomes in adolescence in boys and girls

“…The score ranges between 0 (no problems) and 10 (serious problems), and was dichotomized at a cutoff value of 7 points for both the self‐rated and the parent‐rated subscore as a measure of abnormality in line with SDQ standard original three‐band categorization (http://www.sdqinfo.com/py/sdqinfo/c0.py). The SDQ is commonly used to assess hyperactivity and inattention in population‐based studies of ADHD in children and youth 40, 53, 54.…”

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Preschoolers: The Accuracy of a Short Screener

“…[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] We identified 4 studies that included preschoolers and investigated the screening accuracy of the SDQ HI subscale for ADHD. 10,15,19,20 Two community studies (n ¼ 18,232, age range 5-15 years; n ¼ 1341, age 3 years) 15,20 concluded that the parent SDQ HI subscale discriminated well between children with and without ADHD. A longitudinal study (age range 5-7 years) found that HI subscale scores !6 and reported impact by parents and teachers gave about a 20-fold increased risk of subsequent ADHD.…”

“…A longitudinal study (age range 5-7 years) found that HI subscale scores !6 and reported impact by parents and teachers gave about a 20-fold increased risk of subsequent ADHD. 19 In addition, a clinical study of children aged 3-17 years found that parent SDQ HI ratings for preschoolers had screening ability for ADHD similar to that for older children, but was limited by the inclusion of few preschoolers (n ¼ 31). 10 In schoolchildren, the discriminative property of the SDQ HI subscale has been found to be as strong for teachers as for parents.…”

Psychological Well‐being Trajectories of Individuals with Dyslexia Aged 3–11 Years

“…However, the majority of generic research examining emotional problems in children with SEN have involved cross‐sectional studies of school‐age children that were not screened for co‐morbid learning difficulties (Salomone et al , ). Because children with SEN are thought to often exhibit problems before entering school, it is difficult to ascertain whether dyslexia alone or co‐morbid SEN are responsible for the alleged pre‐school relationship between dyslexia and psychosocial difficulties (Rimvall et al , ). The present study aimed to clarify how dyslexia, in the absence of co‐occurring difficulties, impacts upon the development of psychological well‐being problems upon entering school.…”