The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale: utility and reliability in college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.173v1
Subject Areas
Pathology, Psychiatry and Psychology, Public Health
Keywords
ASRS, ADHD, Validation, College students
Copyright
© 2013 Gray et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Cite this article
Gray S, Woltering S, Mawjee K, Tannock R. 2013. The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale: utility and reliability in college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. PeerJ PrePrints 1:e173v1

Abstract

Background. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a debilitating condition that often persists into adulthood. The past number of decades an increased number of adults with ADHD have gained entrance into the post-secondary education section and register with college or university Disability Service Offices. There is a need to explore utility of affordable materials to gain confidence in validating the original diagnoses and potentially detect feigning. Methods. 135 college students (mean age = 24, 42% males) with ADHD were recruited from post-secondary institutions. The freely available Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) self-report was utilized to assess current ADHD symptomatology. The ASRS was compared to an interview (over the phone) and other-report version (filled out by a significant other) that were directly derived from the original Self-report. Results. Results showed moderate levels of congruency between ASRS-Self and Other Report (correlation = .47). Furthermore, a robust relationship was shown between the ASRS-Self and the interview version (correlation = .66). Discussion. Current findings suggest the telephone-interview version of the ASRS may be an easy-to-use, reliable, and cost-effective supplement in gaining more confidence in determining ADHD in post-secondary education students. More research is required specifically testing its merits to detect feigning or support in diagnosis.