Teacher-completed ratings of symptoms in the diagnostic evaluation of ADHD
The diagnostic evaluation of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents requires multiple informant reports of behavioral symptoms. Reliable and valid rating scales are required when collecting information from school settings. This study examines the scores, reliability and discriminant validity of the school version of the ADHD Rating Scale IV (ADHD RS-IV) in a Finnish sample. The normative group (n = 694) consisted of school children aged 7–15 and the clinical group (n = 219) of ADHD-diagnosed children of the same age range. Boys had higher scores than girls in both groups. Further, learning disabilities and low maternal educational level were connected to higher scores. The internal consistency of the total scale and its subscales was good. The teachers’ ratings were sensitive in differentiating the normative group from the ADHD group and accurate in differentiating the subgroup of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder combined type (ADHD-C) from the predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I).