Functional Impairment Related to ADHD From Preschool to School Age.

Objective: Children with ADHD often experience functional impairments across various aspects of daily life. This study addresses the dearth of longitudinal research on functional impairment trajectories from preschool to school age in children with symptoms of ADHD and comorbid disorders.

Methods: We investigated the extent to which functional impairments were associated with ADHD symptoms, along with behavioral and anxiety symptoms, from age 3.

Do maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms predict anxiety in children with and without ADHD at 8 years?

Maternal anxiety and depression during pregnancy and early childhood have been associated with child anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, previous studies are limited by their short follow-up, few assessments of maternal symptoms, and by not including maternal and child ADHD. The present study aimed to fill these gaps by investigating whether maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms from pregnancy to child age 5 years increase the risk of child anxiety disorders at age 8 years.

Anxiety and depression from age 3 to 8 years in children with and without ADHD symptoms.

Childhood anxiety and depressive symptoms may be influenced by symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigated whether parent- and teacher-reported anxiety, depressive and ADHD symptoms at age 3 years predicted anxiety disorders and/or depression in children with and without ADHD at age 8 years. This study is part of the longitudinal, population-based Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

Early and repeated screening detects children with persistent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Preschool screening of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been found too inaccurate to be clinically useful. This may be due to the known instability of ADHD symptoms from preschool onwards, and the use of a single screening only. We hypothesized that by identifying a group of children with persistent ADHD from preschool to school age and repeating the screening, the clinical usefulness of screening would increase.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from preschool to school age: change and stability of parent and teacher reports.

Identifying attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in pre-schoolers may improve their development if treated, but it is unclear whether ADHD symptoms from this age are stable enough to merit treatment. We aimed to investigate the stability of parent- and teacher-reported ADHD symptoms and ADHD classified above the diagnostic symptom thresholds, including for hyperactivity-impulsivity (HI), inattention and combined presentations from age 3 to 8 years. This study is part of the longitudinal, population-based Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

Youth with hearing loss: Emotional and behavioral problems and quality of life.

Objectives: To compare parent- and self-reported emotional and behavioral problems and quality of life (QoL) among youth with hearing loss (HL) to norms, and to investigate possible associations between emotional and behavioral problems and QoL among youth with HL.

Methods: We used the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) and the Inventory of Life Quality in Children and Adolescents (ILC) to measure emotional and behavioral problems and QoL in youth with HL (n = 317, ages 6-18), where 78% had bilateral HL, 22% unilateral HL, 16% had cochlear implants, and 59% conventional hearing aids.

Results: The youth with HL had significantly more parent-reported (but not self-reported) emotional and behavioral problems and poorer parent- and self-reported QoL than hearing youth.

Predictive validity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from ages 3 to 5 Years.

We investigated to what extent parent-rated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and impairment at age 3 years predicted elevated ADHD symptoms at age 5 years, and whether teacher-rated ADHD symptoms improved these predictions. This study is part of the longitudinal, population-based Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Parents of 3-year-old children (n = 1195) were interviewed about ADHD and impairment, and teachers rated child ADHD symptoms by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire or the Early Childhood Inventory-4.

The Use of Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, and Stimulants in Youth Residential Care.

To assess the use of three commonly prescribed psychotropic medications in youth placed in residential care (RC). Participants were youth aged 0-20 years placed in RC institutions at least once during 2016. Data on filled prescriptions were taken from the Norwegian Prescription Database to compare the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and stimulants in RC with the age- and gender-adjusted general child population (GenPop) and how this co-varied with reasons for RC placement, age, and gender.

The Selective Mutism Questionnaire: Data from typically developing children and children with selective mutism.

The core symptom of the anxiety disorder selective mutism (SM) is absence of speech in specific situations, such as at school. The most commonly used standardized instruments to assess speaking behavior are the parent-rated Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ) and the teacher-rated School Speech Questionnaire (SSQ), scored from 0 to 3, indicating that speaking behavior never, seldom, often, and always occur. They were developed to assess severity of mutism and potential effects of treatment.

The Use of Sleep Medication in Youth Residential Care.

To investigate the use of sleep medication and concomitant psychotropic medication in children and adolescents placed under residential care (RC). Participants were youth 0-20 years of age placed in RC institutions at least once during 2016. Data on filled prescriptions were taken from the Norwegian Prescription Database to compare the use of sleep medication in RC with the general child population (GenPop) and how it covaried with gender, age, reasons for RC placement, and concomitant use of other psychotropic medications (antidepressants, anxiolytics, antipsychotics, and psychostimulants).

Screening with an ADHD-specific rating scale in preschoolers: A cross-cultural comparison of the Early Childhood Inventory-4.

The Early Childhood Inventory-4 (ECI-4) Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (HI) and Inattention (IA) subscales are screeners for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There have been few studies of the screening properties of these subscales, particularly outside the United States. We investigated the classification accuracy of the parent and teacher versions of the HI and IA subscales and the cross-cultural validity of the cutoff values based on norms from a United States sample.

The predictive validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

We need accurate screening measures for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to ensure that children with the disorder are referred for assessment without raising concern for children with normal behaviour. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) provides hyperactivity-inattention (HI), conduct, emotional and peer problem subscales and impact scores that may be used for screening. The aim of the study was to investigate the predictive validity of the Danish version of the parent SDQ HI subscale at the child age of 7 years for subsequent clinically diagnosed ADHD (age 8-15 years).

Dr. Øvergaard et al. Reply.

We appreciate that Rimvall et al. read our latest article with interest. Early and accurate screening of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is important for the remediation of the disorder.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Preschoolers: The Accuracy of a Short Screener.

Objective: Although early and accurate screening is required for the remediation of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), possible gender differences have not been extensively studied. We examined the classification accuracy of the parent and preschool teacher version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) hyperactivity-inattention (HI) subscale in girls and boys.

Method: The study was part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

Neurodevelopmental disorders: prevalence and comorbidity in children referred to mental health services.

Background: Accurate prevalence rates of the neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) and comorbid conditions in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are essential for treatment planning and organization of health care. However, valid and reliable prevalence estimates from Nordic CAMHS populations are scarce, and the published findings vary.

Aims: To report prevalence rates of ND (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: ADHD, tic disorder: TD or autism spectrum disorder: ASD) and comorbid disorders by a validated diagnostic instrument in children referred to CAMHS outpatient clinics.

Early Predictors of ADHD: Evidence from a Prospective Birth Cohort.

To identify preschool predictors of registered ADHD diagnoses and compare two ADHD rating scales, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R:S). The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study (MoBa) is a prospective population-based cohort study. The sample were singletons whose mothers responded to MoBa questionnaires at child age 3 years ( = 57,986) and 5 years ( = 32,377).

ADHD, comorbid disorders and psychosocial functioning: How representative is a child cohort study? Findings from a national patient registry.

Background: Cohort studies often report findings on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) but may be biased by self-selection. The representativeness of cohort studies needs to be investigated to determine whether their findings can be generalised to the general child population. The aim of the present study was to examine the representativeness of child ADHD in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

Convergent and divergent validity of K-SADS-PL anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses in a clinical sample of school-aged children.

Background The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children, Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) is a commonly used diagnostic interview both in research and clinical settings, yet published data on the psychometric properties of the interview generated diagnoses are scarce. Aims To examine the convergent and divergent validity of the Norwegian version of the K-SADS-PL current diagnoses of anxiety disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method Participants were 105 children aged 7-13 years referred for treatment at child mental health clinics and 36 controls.

Adult ADHD Symptoms and Satisfaction With Life: Does Age and Sex Matter?

Objective: To investigate adult ADHD symptoms and satisfaction with life, with a focus on age and sex differences.

Method: This study is based on parents in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS-6) and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) scores were analyzed from 33,210 men and 41,983 women from young to middle adulthood.