1. Short-term persistence of DSM-IV ADHD diagnoses: influence of context, age, and gender.
- Author
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Bauermeister JJ, Bird HR, Shrout PE, Chavez L, Ramírez R, Canino G, Bauermeister, José J, Bird, Héctor R, Shrout, Patrick E, Chavez, Ligia, Ramírez, Rafael, and Canino, Glorisa
- Abstract
Objective: Little is known about the effect of social context and gender on persistence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children of early and middle school years. The study compared persistence of DSM-IV ADHD and ADHD not otherwise specified (NOS) over 2 years in two groups of Puerto Rican children.Method: A three-wave study obtained data on Puerto Rican children 5 through 13 years of age at baseline. Samples were drawn in the South Bronx in New York (n = 1,138) and two metropolitan areas in Puerto Rico (n = 1,353). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV was used to diagnose ADHD and ADHD-NOS.Results: ADHD or ADHD-NOS diagnosis at wave 1 strongly predicted disorder at waves 2 and 3. ADHD had a significantly stronger predictive effect than ADHD-NOS consistently across site and gender. There was a significant interaction with baseline age. For those younger at baseline, the strength of the prediction of ADHD-NOS was relatively weak; for older children, the presence of ADHD-NOS at baseline predicted risk of subsequent ADHD or ADHD-NOS.Conclusions: Persistence of ADHD in children of similar ethnicity does not manifest differently across context and gender. Results suggest that age-specific symptom criteria and modification of age-of-onset criteria should be considered for the diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2011
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