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The Effects of Instructions on Mothers’ Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Referred Children Johnston, Charlotte; Weiss, Margaret D.; Murray, Candice; Miller, Natalie Viola

Abstract

Tested whether instructions for how to rate child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms would improve the agreement between mothers’ ratings of symptoms in their children and ratings provided by teachers and objective observers. Sixty-two mothers of 5 to 12 year old children (48 boys and 14 girls) referred for ADHD assessment were randomly assigned to receive or not receive the instructions. Mothers and teachers rated the children on the SNAP-IV Rating Scale and objective observers rated the children’s behavior during structured tasks. Relations between mother and teacher, and mother and observer ratings were generally stronger for mothers in the Instruction group compared to mothers in the No Instruction group, in some cases significantly stronger. The instructional materials also improved mothers’ ability to accurately describe ADHD and showed reduced some associations between mothers’ ratings and family socioeconomic status. Conclusions: These instructions have the potential to improve clinical assessments of child ADHD symptoms.

Item Metadata

Title
The Effects of Instructions on Mothers’ Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Referred Children
Creator
Johnston, Charlotte; Weiss, Margaret D.; Murray, Candice; Miller, Natalie Viola
Date Issued
2014
Description
Tested whether instructions for how to rate child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms would improve the agreement between mothers’ ratings of symptoms in their children and ratings provided by teachers and objective observers. Sixty-two mothers of 5 to 12 year old children (48 boys and 14 girls) referred for ADHD assessment were randomly assigned to receive or not receive the instructions. Mothers and teachers rated the children on the SNAP-IV Rating Scale and objective observers rated the children’s behavior during structured tasks. Relations between mother and teacher, and mother and observer ratings were generally stronger for mothers in the Instruction group compared to mothers in the No Instruction group, in some cases significantly stronger. The instructional materials also improved mothers’ ability to accurately describe ADHD and showed reduced some associations between mothers’ ratings and family socioeconomic status. Conclusions: These instructions have the potential to improve clinical assessments of child ADHD symptoms.
Subject
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; ADHD; parent ratings; assessment
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2016-02-12
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
DOI
10.14288/1.0224126
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/56986
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Medicine, Faculty of; Psychiatry, Department of; Psychology, Department of; Non UBC
Citation
Johnston, C., Weiss, M. D., Murray, C., & Miller, N. V. (2014). The effects of instructions on mothers’ ratings of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in referred children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 42, 479-488.
Publisher DOI
10.1007/s10802-013-9789-x
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Springer Science+Business Media New York
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
Aggregated Source Repository
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada