An aid for diagnosing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder at adulthood: psychometric properties of the French versions of two Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS-25 and WURS-K)

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects up to 4% of the adults in the general population. The Utah criteria were devised in the 1970s to help a retrospective diagnosis of ADHD during childhood, a necessary but not sufficient condition for diagnosing ADHD at adulthood. A sample of 466 adults was collected from a referral center and a large university. We investigated the psychometric properties (reliability and factor structure) of the original WURS-25 and the WURS-K, two shortened versions of the Wender Utah Rating Scale. These scales have similar psychometric properties; both have a 3-factor structure with only the first two factors highly and positively correlated. The third factor in the WURS-K, antisocial behavior, is less specific to the construct of ADHD than the third factor in the WURS-25, mood/self-esteem. The 18-item Adult ADHD Self-Rating Scale (ASRS) was used as a screening tool for actual ADHD. The composite total scores and the factorial scores correlated moderately with ASRS total and subscores. Research is warranted to assess the cutoff scores against a diagnosis of ADHD using a structured interview.