![Sample our Behavioral Sciences journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110801/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Behavioral-Sciences.jpg"})
Abstract
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition General Abilities Index and Cognitive Proficiency Index have been advanced as possible diagnostic markers of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This hypothesis was tested with a hospital sample with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 78), a referred but nondiagnosed hospital sample (n = 66), a school sample with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 196), a school matched comparison sample (n = 196), and a simulated standardization sample (n = 2,200). On the basis of receiver operating characteristic analyses, the General Abilities Index-Cognitive Proficiency Index discrepancy method had an area under the curve of (a) .64, 95% CI [0.58, 0.71] for the hospital attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sample compared with the simulated normative sample, (b) .46, 95% CI [0.37, 0.56] for the hospital attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sample compared with the referred but nondiagnosed hospital sample, (c) .63, 95% CI [0.59, 0.67] for the school attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sample compared with the simulated sample, and (d) .50, 95% CI [0.45, 0.56] for the school attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sample compared with the matched comparison sample. These area-under-the-curve values indicate that the General Abilities Index-Cognitive Proficiency
Index discrepancy method has low accuracy in identifying children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Acknowledgments
This article is based on a thesis by the first author (S.E.D.). Preliminary results were presented at the 2010 meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Michael S. Lavoie, Ph.D.