. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Feb 10.

Published in final edited form as: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2012 Jul 9;80(6):1052–1061. doi: 10.1037/a0029098

Table 3.

Comparison of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (4th ed., Text Rev.) and Adult-Specific Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Items

	Self-report				Parent report
Symptom	ADHD %	Control %	χ²(1)	OR	ADHD %	Control %	χ²(1)	OR	Correlation (r) with impairment^a
DSM–IV–TR symptoms
Makes careless mistakes^b	9.2	5.8	1.19	1.65	37.4	5.4	31.18^*	10.52	.47^*
Difficulty sustaining attention^b	11.8	5.8	3.14	2.18	24.5	1.1	23.95^*	29.84	.48^*
Does not listen	9.3	1.7	7.29	6.09	18.4	0.0	19.25^*	—	.44^*
Difficulty following instructions	14.9	1.7	14.75^*	10.40	37.4	2.2	39.12^*	27.20	.57^*
Difficulty organizing tasks^c	10.2	6.6	1.20	1.61	38.4	2.2	40.09^*	28.00	.46^*
Dislikes tasks requiring attention	12.8	4.2	6.39	3.36	37.2	2.2	35.99^*	17.80	.57^*
Loses things	14.9	6.6	4.93	2.47	32.7	1.1	35.96^*	44.61	.34^*
Easily distracted	29.1	17.4	5.55	1.95	41.5	1.1	48.58^*	65.26	.54^*
Forgetful in daily activities	15.3	5.0	7.96	3.46	29.9	1.1	31.14^*	39.30	.42^*
Fidgets	29.6	17.4	5.99	2.00	32.0	1.1	33.99^*	43.24	.35^*
Difficulty remaining seated	12.2	0.8	13.43^*	16.74	12.6	1.1	10.09^*	13.25	.48^*
Restless	23.0	6.6	14.36^*	4.21	28.8	0.0	32.46^*	—	.44^*
Difficulty doing things quietly^c	13.8	0.8	15.58^*	19.17	13.7	1.1	11.30^*	14.60	.43^*
On the go, driven by motor	19.0	8.3	6.63	2.58	25.7	0.0	28.32^*	—	.34^*
Talks excessively	18.9	10.0	4.48	2.09	24.5	3.2	18.93^*	9.73	.33^*
Blurts out answers	12.8	6.6	3.03	2.07	17.0	1.1	14.97^*	18.85	.41^*
Difficulty waiting turn	15.4	2.5	13.15^*	7.09	22.4	1.1	21.40^*	26.63	.45^*
Interrupts or intrudes	10.3	2.5	6.75	4.52	25.9	3.2	20.58^*	10.46	.50^*
Adult-specific symptoms
Easily distracted during concentration^c	27.6	19.0	2.70	1.62	42.2	7.6	32.93^*	8.86	.50^*
Makes decisions impulsively^c	24.5	18.2	1.73	1.46	40.8	5.4	36.23^*	12.14	.47^*
Difficulty doing things in proper order^c	12.8	9.1	1.00	1.46	23.3	1.1	22.43^*	27.93	.42^*
Starts projects without directions^c	25.0	17.4	2.54	1.59	46.3	6.5	42.32^*	12.48	.46^*
Difficulty stopping activities^c	10.8	9.1	.25	1.21	29.7	2.2	28.13^*	19.25	.46^*
Poor follow-through^c	7.7	8.3	.03	.93	33.3	3.2	30.42^*	15.00	.57^*
Prone to daydreaming^d	25.5	23.1	.23	1.14	27.9	3.2	23.15^*	11.60	.34^*
Lacks self-discipline^d	11.2	9.0	.13	1.15	52.4	6.5	53.00^*	15.97	.58^*
Trouble doing what tells self^d	15.3	5.8	6.58	2.94	25.9	1.1	25.69^*	32.07	.50^*
Cannot defer gratification^d	17.3	9.1	4.19	2.10	38.8	7.5	28.44^*	7.78	.48^*
Trouble thinking clearly^d	15.4	4.1	9.60	4.22	29.5	2.2	27.10^*	19.00	.48^*
Cannot hold things in memory^d	16.8	8.3	4.69	2.25	31.3	1.1	33.03^*	41.90	.44^*
Difficulty persisting on uninteresting tasks^d	32.1	29.8	.20	1.12	57.8	11.8	50.21^*	10.22	.41^*
Trouble organizing thoughts^d	17.4	9.1	4.26	2.11	33.3	1.1	35.57^*	45.50	.52^*
Difficulty prioritizing work^b	14.3	7.4	3.40	2.07	46.3	3.2	50.64^*	25.82	.54^*
Trouble planning ahead^b	15.8	6.6	5.88	2.65	40.8	5.4	36.23^*	12.14	.46^*
Cannot complete tasks on time^b	16.3	6.6	6.40	2.76	34.0	4.3	28.84^*	11.47	.52^*
Cannot work unless under deadline^b	16.4	14.0	.32	1.20	47.6	8.6	39.53^*	9.66	.39^*

Note. OR = odds ratio.

Impairment r represents the relationship between parent endorsed symptom severity and parent rated overall impairment (Impairment Rating Scale; Fabiano et al., 2006).

Items suggested by Kessler et al., 2010.

Items suggested by Barkley et al., 2008.

Items suggested by Faraone et al., 2010.

p < .001.