Parent ratings of school behaviour in children at risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Authors: Sayal, K.; Taylor, E.

Source: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Volume 111, Number 6, June 2005 , pp. 460-465(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

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Abstract:

Sayal K, Taylor E. Parent ratings of school behaviour in children at risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Acta Psychiatr Scand 2005: 1–6. © Blackwell Munksgaard 2005. Objective:

To investigate whether parents are accurate informants of child hyperactivity symptoms and impairment at school. Method:

Parents of a community sample of 93 children with pervasive hyperactivity completed rating scales about their child's behaviour at home and school. These were compared with teacher ratings. Results:

Parent ratings about school correlate more closely with parent (home) than teacher ratings. Such ratings systematically under-estimate teacher ratings and are influenced by the child's behaviour at both home and school as well as parental mental health. However, a parental report of impairment for the child at school is likely to be accurate. Conclusion:

There are limitations in relying on parental accounts of school behaviour if teacher ratings are unavailable. As such ratings may under-identify children with ADHD and discrepancies between parent and teacher ratings may reflect actual differences in behaviour, this suggests that ratings are required from both sets of informants.

Keywords: parent; children; school; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00487.x

Publication date: 2005-06-01