Understanding Trait and Sources Effects in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Rating Scales: Mothers', Fathers', and Teachers' Ratings of Children From the Balearic Islands

Abstract

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to model a multitrait (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]–inattention, ADHD–hyperactivity/impulsivity, oppositional defiant disorder [ODD]) by multisource (mothers, fathers, and teachers) matrix to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of ratings by mothers, fathers, and teachers. Participants were 1,749 elementary school children from the island of Majorca in the Balearic Islands. The results showed good convergent validity for the measures for mothers' and fathers' ratings with moderate support for the measures discriminant validity for mothers' and fathers' ratings. There was no convergent and discriminant validity, however, between mothers' and teachers' as well as fathers' and teachers' ratings for the ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD measures. The results provide additional evidence that the construct validity of parent and teacher ADHD/ODD rating scales is mostly parent (home) and teacher (school) specific.

Notes

Note: ADHD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; α = Cronbach's alpha; S = skewness; K = kurtosis; IN = inattention; HI = hyperactivity/impulsivity; ODD = oppositional defiant disorder. Rating anchors are 0 (never or rarely), 1 (sometimes), 2 (often), and 3 (very often).

^a n = 1,749.

^b n = 1,380.

^c n = 1,422.

Note: All values were significant at p < .05 unless indicated as nonsignificant with a superscript. Trait, source, and error components sum to 1.0 within rounding error for each measure. ADHD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; IN = inattention; HI = hyperactivity/ impulsivity; ODD = oppositional defiant disorder.

Note: All correlations were significant at p < .01. The correlated traits by correlated sources model does not allow for correlations between the trait and source factors. ADHD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; IN = inattention; HI = hyperactivity/impulsivity; ODD = oppositional defiant disorder.