Trait and State Variance in Multi-Informant Assessments of ADHD and Academic Impairment in Spanish First-Grade Children. Issue 5 (3rd September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Litson, Kaylee; Geiser, Christian; Burns, G. Leonard; Servera, Mateu
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology. Volume 47:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 699
• Page End: 712
• Publication Date: 2018-09-03
• Subjects: Child psychology -- Periodicals; Child psychiatry -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychology -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychiatry -- Periodicals; Adolescent Psychology -- Periodicals; Child Psychology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Clinical -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychiatry; Adolescent psychology; Child psychiatry; Child psychology; Periodicals; 155.4
• DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2015.1118693
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1537-4416

Abstract

Abstract : Objective . We examined the stable trait and variable state components of ADHD-inattention (IN), ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), and academic impairment (AI) dimensions using mothers', fathers', primary and secondary teachers' ratings of children's behavior at home and school. We also examined between-informant agreement with regard to trait and state components. Method. Mothers, fathers, primary and secondary teachers rated HI, IN, and AI in N = 758 Spanish first grade children (55% boys) over three measurement occasions across 12 months. Results . Latent state-trait analyses revealed that mothers', fathers', and primary teachers' (but not secondary teachers') ratings reflected more trait variance for ADHD-HI ( M = 73%), ADHD-IN ( M = 74%), and AI ( M = 76%) than occasion-specific variance ( M = 27%, M = 26%, and M = 24%, respectively). Fathers' ratings shared a meaningful level of trait variance with mothers' ratings of ADHD-HI and ADHD-IN (range 78% to 82%), whereas primary and secondary teachers' ratings shared lower levels of trait variance with mothers' ratings (range 41% to 63%). The trait components of fathers', primary teachers', and secondary teachers' ratings of AI showed high levels of convergence with mothers' ratings (88%, 70%, and 59% respectively). Conclusions . ADHD symptom reports reflect both trait (48 to 86%) and state (14 to 53%) variance components. The lower amount of shared variability between home and school suggests the setting-specificity of trait and state components of ADHD symptoms. Our findings indicate that ADHD symptom reports may reflect context-specific traits, suggesting the importance of differentiating and targeting ADHD behaviors across different settings.