Table 2.
Prevalence of DSM-IV and other ACDS Criterion A symptoms of adult ADHD among respondents with narrowly-defined (n = 55) and other broadly-defined (n = 35) DSM-IV/ACDS diagnoses of adult ADHD compared to other respondents (n = 255) and results of the rotated (promax) principal axis factor analysis (n = 345)1
| Symptom prevalence among respondents with and without DSM-IV/ACDS adult ADHD |
Odds- ratio of the symptom predicting DSM-IV/ACDS adult ADHD3 |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSM-IV Symptom2 |
Narrowly- defined |
Other Broadly- defined |
Others | Narrowly- defined vs. Others |
Broadly- defined vs. Others |
Rotated (promax) factor Analysis partial regression coefficients4 |
||||||||
| % | (SD) | % | (SD) | % | (SD) | OR | (95% CI) | OR | (95% CI) | I | II | III | ||
| I. DSM-IV Criterion A symptoms of Inattention (AD) | ||||||||||||||
| Makes careless mistakes | ADa | 33.4 | (47.2) | 56.8 | (49.5) | 0.8 | (8.9) | 60.3* | (13.7–265.6) | 101.6* | (23.2–446.0) | .61 | −.06 | .10 |
| Difficulty sustaining attention | ADb | 98.0 | (14.0) | 57.7 | (49.4) | 6.7 | (25.0) | 694.6* | (105.2–4586.3) | 45.9* | (5.0–423.7) | .26 | .73 | −.11 |
| Does not listen | ADc | 85.3 | (35.4) | 56.0 | (49.6) | 7.9 | (27.0) | 67.6* | (15.5–294.6) | 26.8* | (4.5–160.0) | .17 | .69 | .00 |
| Difficulty follow instructions | ADd | 88.4 | (32.0) | 97.0 | (17.1) | 18.2 | (38.6) | 34.2* | (7.3–160.6) | 59.3* | (16.2–217.6) | .17 | .80 | .06 |
| Difficulty organizing tasks | ADe | 91.7 | (27.6) | 61.9 | (48.6) | 12.7 | (33.3) | 75.5* | (17.5–326.0) | 21.6* | (3.4–135.6) | .67 | .35 | −.06 |
| Dislikes tasks requiring attention | ADf | 95.3 | (21.2) | 96.2 | (19.1) | 12.7 | (33.3) | 138.6* | (28.8–667.7) | 154.9* | (44.6–537.5) | .52 | .55 | −.07 |
| Loses things | ADg | 83.4 | (37.2) | 57.9 | (49.4) | 17.3 | (37.8) | 24.1* | (5.8–100.7) | 11.1* | (2.3–54.4) | .42 | .35 | .13 |
| Easily distracted | ADh | 94.3 | (23.2) | 55.9 | (49.7) | 12.1 | (32.6) | 119.9* | (25.0–574.5) | 20.6* | (3.0–139.4) | .21 | .74 | −.03 |
| Forgetful in daily activities | ADi | 87.6 | (33.0) | 55.2 | (49.7) | 9.3 | (29.0) | 69.1* | (13.5–354.2) | 23.2* | (4.2–128.1) | .27 | .66 | .01 |
| II. DSM-IV Criterion A symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity (HD) | ||||||||||||||
| Fidgets | HDa | 83.5 | (37.1) | 91.7 | (27.6) | 32.8 | (46.9) | 10.3* | (2.5–42.7) | 14.8* | (4.7–46.0) | −.19 | .84 | .21 |
| Difficulty remaining seated | HDb | 73.5 | (44.1) | 47.0 | (49.9) | 14.1 | (34.8) | 16.8* | (3.5–81.3) | 8.9* | (1.8–44.0) | −.21 | .94 | .12 |
| Restless | HDc | 31.8 | (46.6) | 43.8 | (49.6) | 14.3 | (35.0) | 2.8 | (0.6–12.4) | 3.7 | (0.8–16.8) | −.13 | .81 | .18 |
| Difficulty playing quietly | HDd | 34.7 | (47.6) | 46.2 | (49.9) | 9.7 | (29.6) | 4.9 | (0.9–26.2) | 6.4* | (1.3–32.4) | −.39 | .89 | .18 |
| Driven by motor | HDe | 34.3 | (47.5) | 49.6 | (50.0) | 12.6 | (33.2) | 3.6 | (0.8–17.6) | 5.1* | (1.1–23.7) | .00 | .51 | .24 |
| Talks excessively | HDf | 32.2 | (46.7) | 48.1 | (50.0) | 21.4 | (41.0) | 1.8 | (0.4–7.8) | 2.5 | (0.6–11.1) | −.20 | .29 | .73 |
| Blurts out answers | HDg | 76.8 | (42.2) | 50.4 | (50.0) | 19.6 | (39.7) | 13.5* | (3.3–55.4) | 6.9* | (1.5–32.1) | .12 | .16 | .69 |
| Difficulty waiting turn | HDh | 73.3 | (44.2) | 54.1 | (49.8) | 20.0 | (40.0) | 11.0* | (2.6–47.0) | 6.8* | (1.5–31.7) | .12 | .15 | .63 |
| Interrupts or intrudes | HDi | 32.1 | (46.7) | 87.0 | (33.6) | 11.1 | (31.4) | 3.8 | (0.9–17.0) | 12.7* | (2.8–57.3) | .14 | .18 | .72 |
| III. Symptoms not in DSM-IV | ||||||||||||||
| Wastes or mismanages time | 82.0 | (38.4) | 54.8 | (49.8) | 12.0 | (32.5) | 33.4* | (7.6–147.2) | 15.3* | (2.8–83.8) | .37 | .35 | .24 | |
| Trouble planning ahead | 75.8 | (42.8) | 53.2 | (49.9) | 4.5 | (20.7) | 66.9* | (8.9–503.4) | 37.7* | (4.9–287.8) | .72 | .34 | −.12 | |
| Lacks self-discipline | 88.8 | (31.5) | 93.9 | (23.9) | 9.5 | (29.3) | 75.5* | (15.2–375.0) | 102.4* | (29.2–359.0) | .40 | .38 | .32 | |
| Difficulty prioritizing work | 80.5 | (39.6) | 54.8 | (49.8) | 5.0 | (21.8) | 78.5* | (15.2–405.7) | 38.3* | (6.5–226.7) | .48 | .43 | .16 | |
| Trouble keep track multiple things | 89.1 | (31.2) | 94.2 | (23.4) | 17.8 | (38.3) | 37.7* | (10.1–141.4) | 51.8* | (16.7–160.6) | .53 | .29 | .19 | |
| Bores easily | 96.7 | (17.9) | 93.2 | (25.2) | 25.7 | (43.7) | 83.6* | (17.4–402.7) | 53.3* | (16.5–172.2) | .05 | .84 | .03 | |
| Others keep life order | 69.8 | (45.9) | 13.5 | (34.2) | 6.6 | (24.8) | 32.5* | (5.2–202.7) | 9.3* | (1.5–58.5) | .00 | .78 | −.29 | |
| Cannot work unless deadline | 95.5 | (20.7) | 57.6 | (49.4) | 7.5 | (26.3) | 261.5* | (55.8–1226.5) | 38.1* | (5.6–260.9) | .39 | .57 | .03 | |
| Cannot complete tasks in time | 80.2 | (39.8) | 86.1 | (34.6) | 2.6 | (15.9) | 151.0* | (27.7–824.2) | 186.7* | (43.0–810.0) | .56 | .34 | .07 | |
| Remembers details, not main idea | 75.0 | (43.3) | 50.5 | (50.0) | 11.7 | (32.1) | 22.8* | (4.8–108.2) | 12.4* | (2.5–61.9) | .42 | .33 | .27 | |
| Mood changes frequently | 27.6 | (44.7) | 82.3 | (38.2) | 14.8 | (35.5) | 2.2 | (0.5–8.8) | 7.5* | (1.8–32.1) | .00 | .03 | .80 | |
| Easily overwhelmed | 27.2 | (44.5) | 91.8 | (27.4) | 5.4 | (22.6) | 6.6* | (1.5–28.8) | 28.2* | (5.8–137.7) | .34 | .13 | .39 | |
| Difficulty expressing anger | 35.0 | (47.7) | 47.1 | (49.9) | 18.9 | (39.2) | 2.3 | (0.5–9.8) | 3.0 | (0.7–12.4) | .11 | .34 | .18 | |
| Sensitive to criticism | 35.6 | (47.9) | 46.5 | (49.9) | 26.7 | (44.2) | 1.5 | (0.4–6.6) | 1.9 | (0.5–8.0) | −.07 | .19 | .64 | |
| (n) | (55) | (35) | (255) | (310) | (345) | (345) | ||||||||
Significant at the .05 level, two-sided test
Prevalence estimates are based on weighted data. See footnote 1 to Table 1.
Labels indicate the DSM-IV symptom criteria for ADHD, distinguishing the symptoms of attention-deficit (AD) from those of hyperactivity/impulsivity (HD). Cells without such entries are associated with symptoms that are not in the DSM-IV.
The ORs in the first column compare narrowly-defined cases (n = 55) with respondents who did not meet broadly-defined criteria (n = 255), whereas the ORs in the second column compare broadly-defined cases (n = 90; that is, those in the first two prevalence columns combined) with respondents who did not meet broadly-defined criteria (n = 255). Note that the ORs are calculated based on weighted data, whereas the n’s of Narrowly-defined and Other Broadly-Defined cases are unweighted. This means that hand calculation of ORs for Broadly-defined vs. Others using combined prevalence estimates for Narrowly-defined and Other Broadly-defined cases will be inaccurate due to the use of unweighted n’s to calculate combined prevalence.
Bolded entries represent the highest regression coefficients for each item across the three factors