Psychiatry Investig.  2014 Jul;11(3):258-265.

The Validities and Efficiencies of Korean ADHD Rating Scale and Korean Child Behavior Checklist for Screening Children with ADHD in the Community

• Park JI
• Shim SH
• Lee M
• Jung YE
• Park TW
• Park SH
• Im YJ
• Yang JC
• Chung YC
• Chung SK

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to examine the validity of primary screening tools for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a community-based sample of children using the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) and the Korean version of the ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS).
METHODS
A large-scale community-based study for ADHD screening was conducted in the Jeollabuk province in the Republic of Korea. In 2010-2011, we surveyed a total of 49,088 first- and fourth-grade elementary school students. All of the participants in this study were assessed by the K-ARS-Parent version (K-ARS-P) and the K-ARS-Teacher version (K-ARS-T) as the primary screening instruments. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV) was used for confirming the diagnosis of ADHD. DISC-IV was administered to subjects who received top 10% scores in the K-ARS-P or K-ARS-T tests.
RESULTS
Of the 3,085 subjects who completed the DISC-IV, 1,215 were diagnosed as having ADHD. A reasonable level of sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value were obtained when the total K-ARS-P scores were > or =90th percentile. The positive predictive value and specificity increased significantly when the total K-ARS-P scores were > or =90th percentile, T scores were > or =60 in the attention problems of K-CBCL, and T scores were > or =63 in the total problems of K-CBCL.
CONCLUSION
These results suggested that the K-ARS-P could effectively serve as a primary screening tool to identify elementary school children with ADHD in the community. Also, there might be some increment in the effectiveness of K-ARS-P when combined with K-CBCL-A and K-CBCL-T as a secondary screening tool.

Keyword

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Child Behavior Checklist; ADHD rating scale; Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV; DISC-IV

MeSH Terms

Appointments and Schedules
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Checklist*
Child
Child Behavior*
Child*
Diagnosis
Humans
Mass Screening*
Republic of Korea
Sensitivity and Specificity