Construction, validity and reliability, of the screening scale «FASCT» for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults. (Self-reported and observer versions)

Abstract

Introduction. Research about the reliability of retrospective self-report rating scales for ADHD in adults has been limited.

Method. A self-report scale named «FASCT» was created with two versions: self-reported and observer. The self-reported version was applied to 393 subjects and the observer version to 377. An exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis was made in order to obtain the final adaptation of both versions. Finally they were applied to 205 subjects and 105 of their first degree relatives.

Results. Cronbach's alpha for the self-reported version was 0.84 and 0.87 for the observer version. The total score that had the best balance between sensitivity and 1-specificity was 23 points for each version of the «FASCT». Correlation between both versions was 0.88. The correlation coefficient between the Wender-UTAH scale and self-reported version was 0.71 and for the observer version was 0.66. Agreement degree between dichotomized total score and the diagnosis made by structured interview was 0.82, for the self-reported version and 0.88 for the observer version. Sensitivity and specificity for the self-reported version were 80.36 and 97.9, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity values for the observer version were 95.4 and 96.3 respectively.

Conclusions. Both versions of the «FASCT» scale were shown to be valid and reliable for adult ADHD screening.