Retrospective Symptoms in Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Reflection upon Self and Hetero ‑Reported Information
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51338/rppsm.479Keywords:
Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis, Self ReportAbstract
According to the criteria of the classification manual DSM ‑5, to confirm the diagnosis of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the symptoms must be present before the age of 12. It is also mentioned that the information from adults regarding childhood is untrustful, being advised to collect collateral information. A literature review was carried out, using the PubMed bibliographic reference database as the main research tool. The agreement between adults and their informants regarding symptoms from childhood may vary from 21% to 74%. Some research groups believe that adults tend to underreport the number and severity of their symptoms, as other people, such as family members, may provide additional information. On the other hand, the recall accuracy by others regarding childhood, in adult ADHD, is reported as weak or moderate in clinical and population studies, it decreases over time and its validity tends to be low. The self ‑reported symptoms correlate more to the clinician’s evaluation than the collateral information. This kind of data, in clinical settings, may be considered a useful source, though, it should be subjected to clinical judgment. Despite controversial data, some research groups and the DSM ‑5 keep encouraging clinicians to seek information from collateral sources to corroborate the ADHD diagnosis in adulthood. Considering the low accuracy and the absence of useful clinical factors to improve the validity of the recalled information, the clinicians must primarily characterize the current ADHD symptoms, rather than trying to define the cases upon potentially unprecise memories. In the case of someone who describes the symptoms with precision throughout their lifetime, giving examples of the associated daily impact, the diagnosis can be made. Collateral information is advised when the recall from childhood or adolescence is inaccurate or when there are doubts regarding credibility.Downloads
References
Matte B, Rohde LA, Grevet EH. ADHD in adults: A concept in evolution. Atten Defic Hyperact Disord. 2012;4:53–62. doi: 10.1007/s12402 ‑012 ‑0077 ‑3.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
Kieling C, Kieling RR, Rohde LA, Frick PJ, Moffitt T, Nigg JT, et al. The age at onset of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2010;167:14–6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09060796.
Emser TS, Johnston BA, Steele J D, Kooij S, Thorell L, Christiansen H. Assessing ADHD symptoms in children and adults: evaluating the role of objective measures. Behav Brain Funct. 2018;14:11. doi: 10.1186/s12993 ‑018 ‑0143 ‑x.
Faraone SV, Asherson P, Banaschewski T, Biederman J, Buitelaar JK, Ramos‑Quiroga JA, et al. Attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2015;1:15020. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2015.20.
Ramos‑Quiroga JA, Nasillo V, Richarte V, Corrales M, Palma F, Ibanez P, et al. Criteria and Concurrent Validity of DIVA 2.0: A Semi‑Structured Diagnostic Interview for Adult ADHD. J Atten Disord. 2019;23:1126 ‑35. doi: 10.1177/1087054716646451.
Young JL, Goodman DW. Adult Attention‑Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment in the DSM‑5 Era. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2016;18. doi: 10.4088/PCC.16r02000.
Dalrymple RA, McKenna Maxwell L, Russell S, Duthie J. NICE guideline review: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NG87). Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed. 2020;105:289 ‑93. doi: 10.1136/archdischild ‑2019 ‑316928.
Stanger C, Lewis M. Agreement among parents, teachers, and children on internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. J Clin Child Psychol. 1993;22:107-16. doi: 10.1207/s15374424jccp2201_11.
Sayal K, Goodman R. Do parental reports of child hyperkinetic disorder symptoms at school predict teacher ratings? Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;18:336–44. doi: 10.1007/s00787 ‑009 ‑0735 ‑y.
Bourchtein E, Langberg JM, Owens JS, Evans SW, Perera RA. Is the Positive Illusory Bias Common in Young Adolescents with ADHD? A Fresh Look at Prevalence and Stability Using Latent Profile and Transition Analyses. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2017;45:1063 ‑75. doi: 10.1007/s10802 ‑016 ‑0248 ‑3.
Du Rietz E, Kuja‑Halkola R, Brikell I, Jangmo A, Sariaslan A, Lichtenstein P et al. Predictive validity of parent‑ and self‑rated ADHD symptoms in adolescence on adverse socioeconomic and health outcomes. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017;26:857 ‑67. doi: 10.1007/s00787 ‑017 ‑0957 ‑3.
Saleh A, Fuchs C, Taylor WD, Niarhos F. Evaluating the consistency of scales used in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessment of college‑aged adults. J Am Coll Health. 2018; 66:98 ‑105. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2017.1377206.
Sibley MH, Pelham WE, Molina B, Gnagy EM, Waxmonsky JG, Waschbusch DA. When diagnosing ADHD in young adults emphasize informant reports, DSM items, and impairment. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2012;80:1052 ‑61. doi: 10.1037/a0029098.
Schneider BC, Schöttle D, Hottenrott B, Gallinat J, Moritz S. Assessment of Adult ADHD in Clinical Practice: Four Letters‑40 Opinions. J Atten Disord. 2023;27:1051 ‑61. doi: 10.1177/1087054719879498.
Todd RD, Huang H, Henderson CA. Poor utility of the age of onset criterion for DSM‑IV attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Recommendations for DSM‑V and ICD‑11. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2008;49:942‑9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469 ‑7610.2008.01892.x.
Mannuzza S, Klein RG, Klein DF, Bessler A, Shrout P. Accuracy of adult recall of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2002;159:1882 ‑8. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.11.1882.
Miller CJ, Newcorn JH, Halperin JM. Fading memories: Retrospective recall inaccuracies in ADHD. J Atten Disord. 2010;14:7 ‑14. doi: 10.1177/1087054709347189.
Dias G, Mattos P, Coutinho G, Segenreich D, Saboya E, Ayrão V. Agreement rates between parent and self‑report on past ADHD symptoms in an adult clinical sample. J Atten Disord. 2008;12:70–5. doi: 10.1177/1087054707311221.
Kooij JJ, Marije Boonstra A, Swinkels SH, Bekker EM, de Nood I, Buitelaar JK. Reliability, vali‑ dity, and utility of instruments for self‑report and informant report concerning symptoms of ADHD in adult patients. J Atten Disord. 2008;11:445–58. doi: 10.1177/1087054707299367.
Zucker M, Morris MK, Ingram SM, Morris RD, Bakeman R. Concordance of self‑ and informant ratings of adults’ current and childhood attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Psychol Assess. 2002; 14: 379–89. doi: 10.1037//1040 ‑3590.14.4.379.
Breda V, Rovaris DL, Vitola ES, Mota NR, Blaya‑Rocha P, Salgado CA. Does collateral retrospective information about childhood attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms assist in the diagnosis of attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults? Findings from a large clinical sample. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2016;50:557 ‑65. doi: 10.1177/0004867415609421.
Breda V, Rohde LA, Menezes AM, Anselmi L, Caye A, Rovaris DL, et al. Revisiting ADHD age‑of‑onset in adults: to what extent should we rely on the recall of childhood symptoms? Psychol Med. 2019;50:857 ‑66. doi: 10.1017/S003329171900076X.
Barkley RA, Fischer M, Smallish L, Fletcher K. The persistence of attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder into young adulthood as a function of reporting source and definition of disorder. J Abnorm Psychol. 2002;111:279 ‑89.
Chang Z, Lichtenstein P, Asherson PJ, Larsson H. Developmental twin study of attention problems: High heritabilities throughout development. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013; 70: 311–8. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.287.
Henry B, Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Langley J, Silva PA. On the ‘remembrance of things past’: a longitudinal evaluation of the Retrospective method. Psychol Assess. 1994; 6: 92–101. doi:10.1017/S0954579400007161
Young SE, Friedman NP, Miyake A, Willcutt EG, Corley RP, Haberstick BC, et al. Behavioral disinhibition: Liability for externalizing spectrum disorders and its genetic and environmental relation to response inhibition across adolescence. J Abnorm Psychol. 2009;118:117–30. doi: 10.1037/a0014657.
Dwyer SB, Nicholson JM, Battistutta D. Parent and teacher identification of children at risk of developing internalizing or externalizing mental health problems: A comparison of screening methods. Prev Sci. 2006;7:343 ‑57. doi: 10.1007/s11121 ‑006 ‑0026 ‑5.
Loney J, Ledolter J, Kramer JR, Volpe RJ. Retrospective ratings of ADHD symptoms made at young adulthood by clinic‑referred boys with ADHD‑related problems, their brothers without ADHD, and control participants. Psychol Assess. 2007;19: 269–80. doi: 10.1037/1040‑3590.19.3.269.
Moffitt TE, Houts R, Asherson P, Belsky DW, Corcoran DL, Hammerle M, et al. Is adult ADHD a childhood‑onset neurodevelopmental disorder? Evidence from a four‑decade longitudinal cohort study. Am J Psychiatry. 2015;172:967 ‑77. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14101266.
Caye A, Swanson J, Thapar A, Sibley M, Arseneault L, Hechtman L, et al. Life Span Studies of ADHD‑Conceptual Challenges and Predictors of Persistence and Outcome. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016;18:111. doi: 10.1007/s11920 ‑016 ‑0750 ‑x.
Guelzow BT, Loya F, Hinshaw SP. How Persistent is ADHD into Adulthood? Informant Report and Diagnostic Thresholds in a Female Sample. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2017;45:301–12. doi: 10.1007/ s10802 ‑016 ‑0174 ‑4.
Katz N, Petscher Y, Welles T. Diagnosing attention‑deficit hyperactivity disorder in college students: an investigation of the impact of informant ratings on diagnosis and subjective impairment. J Atten Disord. 2009;13:277 ‑83. doi: 10.1177/1087054708326112.
Mörstedt B, Corbisiero S, Bitto H, Stieglitz RD. Attention‑Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Adulthood: Concordance and Differences between Self‑ and Informant Perspectives on Symptoms and Functional Impairment. PloS One. 2015; 10:e0141342. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141342.
Alexander L, Liljequist L. Determining the Accuracy of Self ‑Report Versus Informant ‑Report Using the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale. J Atten Disord. 2016; 20:346–52. doi: 10.1177/1087054713478652.
Sibley MH, Coxe S, Molina BS. Refining Diagnostic Procedures for Adults with Symptoms of ADHD. Assessment. 2017;24:290–6. doi: 10.1177/1073191116676890.
Kooij JJS, Buitelaar JK, van den Oord EJ, Furer JW, Rijnders CA, Hodiamont PP. Internal and external validity of attention‑deficit hyperactivity disorder in a population‑based sample of adults. Psychol Med. 2005;35:817–27. doi: 10.1017/s003329170400337x.
Magnússon P, Smári J, Sigurdardóttir D, Baldursson G, Sigmundsson J, Kristjánsson, et al. Validity of self‑report and informant rating scales of adult ADHD symptoms in comparison with a semistructured diagnostic interview. J Atten Disord. 2006;9:494–503. doi: 10.1177/1087054705283650.
Ferdinand RF, Van der Ende J, Verhulst FC. Parent‑adolescent disagreement regarding psychopathology in adolescents from the general population as a risk factor for adverse outcome. J Abnorm Psychol. 2004;113:206. doi: 10.1037/0021 ‑843X.113.2.198.
Kooij JJ. Adult ADHD ‑ Diagnostic Assessment and Treatment. Berlin: Springer; 2022.
Vitola ES, Bau CHD, Salum GA, Horta BL, Quevedo L, Barros FC, et al. Exploring DSM‑5 ADHD criteria beyond young adulthood: phenomenology, psychometric properties and prevalence in a large three‑decade birth cohort. Psychol Med. 2017;47:744–54. doi: 10.1017/S0033291716002853.
Simon V, Czobor P, Bálint S, Mészáros A, Bitter I. Prevalence and correlates of adult attention ‑deficit hyperactivity disorder: meta‑analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2009;194:204–11. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.107.048827.
Willcutt EG. The prevalence of DSM‑IV attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta‑analytic review. Neurotherapeutics. 2012;9:490–9. doi: 10.1007/s13311 ‑012 ‑0135 ‑8.
Hoza B, Pelham WE, Milich R, Pillow D, McBride K. The self‑perceptions and attributions of attention deficit hyperactivity disordered and nonreferred boys. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1993;21:271–86. doi: 10.1007/BF00917535.
Hoza B, Murray‑Close D, Arnold LE, Hinshaw SP, Hechtman L, The MTA Cooperative Group. Time‑dependent changes in positively biased self‑perceptions of children with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A developmental psychopathology perspective. Develop Psychopathol. 2010;22:375–90. doi: 10.1017/S095457941000012X.
Ohan J, Johnston C. Positive illusions of social competence in girls with and without ADHD. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2011; 39:527–39. doi: 10.1007/s10802 ‑010 ‑9484 ‑0.
Owens JS, Goldfine ME, Evangelista NM, Hoza B, Kaiser NM. A critical review of self‑perceptions and the positive illusory bias in children with ADHD. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2007;10:335–51. doi: 10.1007/s10567 ‑007 ‑0027 ‑3.
Prevatt F, Proctor B, Best L. The positive illusory bias: Does it explain self‑evaluations in college students with ADHD? J Atten Disord. 2011;15:235–43. doi: 10.1177/1087054710392538.
Butzbach M, Fuermaier A, Aschenbrenner S, Weisbrod M, Tucha L, Tucha O. Metacognition in adult ADHD: subjective and objective perspectives on self‑awareness of cognitive functioning. J Neural Transm. 2021;128:939 ‑55. doi: 10.1007/s00702 ‑020 ‑02293 ‑w.
Hoza B, Waschbusch DA, Pelham WE, Molina BS, Milich R. Attention‑deficit/hyperactivity di‑ sordered and control boys’ responses to social success and failure. Child Dev. 2000;71:432 ‑46. doi: 10.1111/1467 ‑8624.00155.
Hoza B, Pelham WE, Dobbs J, Owens JS, Pillow DR. Do boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder have positive illusory self‑concepts? J Abnorm Psychol. 2002;111;268–78. doi: 10.1037//0021 ‑843x.111.2.268.
Loeber R, Green SM, Lahey BB. Mental health professionals’ perception of the utility of children, mothers, and teachers as informants on childhood psychopathology. J Clin Child Psychol. 1990;19:136–43. doi: 10.1207/s15374424jccp1902_5.
Mikami A, Calhoun C, Abikoff H. Positive illusory bias and response to behavioral treatment among children with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2010;39:373–85. doi: 10.1080/15374411003691735.
Lewinsohn PM, Mischel W, Chaplin W, Barton R. Social competence and depression: the role of illusory self‑perceptions. J Abnorm Psychol. 1980;89:203–12. doi: 10.1037//0021 ‑843x.89.2.203.
Knouse LE, Mitchell JT. Incautiously Optimistic: Positively‑Valenced Cognitive Avoidance in Adult ADHD. Cogn Behav Pract. 2015;22:192 ‑202. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2014.06.003.
Tu JW, Owens EB, Hinshaw SP. Positive Illusory Bias Still Illusory? Investigating Discrepant Self‑Perceptions in Girls with ADHD. J Pediatr Psychol. 2019;44:576 ‑88. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsy109.
Gresham MF, Lane KK, MacMillan DL, Bocian K, M, Ward SL. Effects of Positive and Negative Illusory Biases: Comparisons Across Social and Academic Self‑Concept Domains. J Sch Psychol. 2000;38:151 ‑75.
Greely H, Sahakian B, Harris J, Kessler RC, Gazzaniga M, Campbell P, et al. Towards responsible use of cognitive‑enhancing drugs by the healthy. Nature. 2008; 456:702–5. doi: 10.1038/456702a.
Graf WD, Nagel SK, Epstein LG, Miller G, Nass R, Larriviere D. Pediatric neuroenhancement: Ethical, legal, social, and neurodevelopmental implications. Neurology. 2013 80:1251–60. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318289703b.
Adler L, Cohen J. Diagnosis and evaluation of adults with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Psychiatric Clin N Am. 2004;27:187–201. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2003.12.003.
Haavik J, Halmøy A, Lundervold AJ, Fasmer OB. Clinical assessment and diagnosis of adults with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Expert Rev Neurother. 2010; 10:1569 ‑80. doi: 10.1586/ern.10.149.
