Evaluating Parental Disagreement in ADHD Diagnosis: Can We Rely on a Single Report From Home?

Abstract

Objective: Few studies assessed factors associated with the agreement/disagreement between fathers and mothers when rating ADHD symptoms of their offspring.

Method: Teachers and both parents assessed a referred sample of 98 children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 years ( M age = 9.79, SD = 2.59) using the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham (SNAP-IV) rating scale. The agreement was assessed for each of the items of the scale and correlated with variables measuring children's features, socioeconomic adversity, family functioning, and parental psychopathology.

Results: Mean agreement between parents was moderate for the inattentive and good for the hyperactive-impulsive construct. Mothers tended to report more symptoms than fathers. The agreement was lower in those families where parents had discrepant educational levels.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a significant cross-informant disagreement between parents on symptoms of ADHD. Discrepant parental education has a relevant role in explaining parental disagreement in reporting ADHD symptoms.

Keywords: ADHD; SNAP-IV; educational level; interrater agreement.