The Validity of Teacher Ratings in Differentiating Between Two Subgroups of Attention Deficit Disordered Children with or Without Hyperactivity

Abstract

A recent analysis of the intercorrelations of teacher ratings of the classroom behavior of 158 attention deficit disordered (ADD) children revealed three factors labeled Emotional Lability/Conduct, Temperament, and Attention/Concentration which in part correspond to the classifications in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III). To explore further this correspondence, 88 children were identified as those with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD-H), and 58 children were identified as those with attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (ADD) in accordance with DSM III criteria. When the two subgroups were compared, teachers rated ADD-H children as more problematic than their ADD counterparts. Results of discriminant analysis further indicated that teacher ratings had the potential to differentiate ADD from ADD-H groups. Findings were interpreted to corroborate the distinction between ADD with and without hyperactivity as delineated in the DSM III. Discussion includes an interpretation of these results to suggest that the attention deficit disorder as exhibited in the classroom is a constellation of related attentional as well as behavioral and temperament disturbances. Recommendations were also made to support the diagnostician's use of teacher ratings in identifying ADD children.