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BackgroundGender and sex differences in the development of children and adolescents are commonly found in the psychiatric examination. Family and developmental history is an important part of the clinical diagnostic interview, the basic examination technique. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with diagnosis-specific markers in family and development history. However, it is unclear to what extent ADHD-specific signs and narratives differ between females and males. The aim of this study was to assess and to compare the family and developmental history profiles of female versus male adolescents with ADHD.MethodsData were collected using the clinical diagnostic interview technique from parents of female and male patients diagnosed with ADHD (ICD-10 F90.0, F90.1 and F98.8) between the ages of 12 and 17 years (n = 92). The two groups were matched in pairs for sex, IQ and ICD-10 diagnosis (F90.0, F90.1 and F98.8). Interview data were operationalized in three categories: 0 - physiological marker, 1 - subclinical marker, 2 - clinical marker. The two groups were compared with two-way ANOVA.ResultsInformation about female in comparison to male adolescents were reported in the parental interview with few differences.ConclusionOur study suggests that family and developmental history of the neurodevelopmental disorder ADHD is only poorly influenced by gender or sex.

Background: Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be made early in childhood, but also later in adolescence or adulthood. In the latter cases, concerns about an individual's behavior typically lead to consultation of a mental health professional (MHP). As part of the initial clinical examination by the MHP, a clinical diagnostic interview is performed, in order to obtain the patient's history, and may lead to the hypothesis of ASD. We were here interested to study family and developmental history as key parts of the patient's history. The aim of the study was to investigate empirical differences between adolescents with ASD and adolescent control persons in family and developmental history.Method: Clinical diagnostic interview items addressing family and developmental history were adopted from their regular use at several university hospitals and in leading textbooks. Parents of male adolescents with normal intelligence and an ASD diagnosis (n = 67) and parents of male adolescents without psychiatric diagnosis (n = 51) between the age of 12 and 17 years were investigated. Data were operationalized into three categories: 0 = normal behavior, 1 = minor pathological behavior, and 2 = major pathological behavior. Differences were analyzed by multiple t-test of two-way ANOVA.Results: Adolescents with ASD expressed a profile of items significantly differing from control persons. Comparison of significant items with the empirical ASD literature indicated robust accordance.Conclusions: Our findings support the importance and feasibility of the clinical diagnostic interview of family and developmental history for initiation of the diagnostic process of ASD in adolescents.