Usefulness of a clinician rating scale in identifying preschool children with ADHD.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Behavioral Rating Inventory for Children (BRIC), a novel clinician inventory for preschoolers. METHOD: Completion of the BRIC for 214 preschoolers follows 2 evaluation sessions, generally separated by less than 2 weeks. Items are submitted to a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation. Test-retest reliability and validity relative to other measures are assessed. RESULTS: PCA yields a 2-factor solution representing a "Symptom Triad" and a "Mood/Sociability Factor." Test-retest reliability of the triad and factor are .78 (p <.001) and .55 (p < .001), respectively. Correlations between parent and teacher ratings of ADHD-related behaviors and the Symptom Triad range from .39-.47 (all p <.001); similar correlations are found with laboratory measures of activity level (r = .35-.49, all p <.001). CONCLUSION: The Symptom Triad of the BRIC appears to be a reliable and valid tool that may assist researchers and clinicians in studying and diagnosing ADHD in preschoolers, particularly in cases where teacher ratings are unavailable. J. of Att. Dis. 2010; 13(5) 479-488.