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“A rating scale that is easy to use and score and that provides useful, DSM-5 specific information about ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents. It has demonstrated utility in both clinical and school settings. The test authors have provided strong support for the psychometric properties of the instrument, which are discussed in the user-friendly test manual. The opportunity for ratings from both parents and teachers and for both children and adolescents is a strength of the measure.”

—Buros Center for Testing: The Twenty-First Mental Measurements Yearbook


“If you are looking for an easy to use assessment that is a reliable and valid measure of ADHD, this is a manual to add to your bookshelf. The entire form takes only a few minutes to score, and it elicits more objective data for evaluating your students.”

—School Social Work Journal


“I have been eagerly awaiting the revision of this well-known rating scale for screening and diagnosing ADHD in youth! Not only is the scale quick and easy to administer and score, but its brevity and thoroughness make it an exceptional tool for assessing ADHD and measuring treatment effects. Unlike the majority of other instruments to assess ADHD, it contains current DSM terminology, and has both child and adolescent versions of the parent and teacher ratings. Another important update in this version is its inclusion of items to rate the severity of functional impairments in both inattention and/or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.”

—Julie Schweitzer, PhD, Director, ADHD Program, MIND Institute, University of California, Davis


“The ADHD Rating Scale–5 continues the excellence of its predecessor while incorporating improvements consistent with emerging research and diagnostic changes. The assessment of impairment and the inclusion of an adolescent version with developmentally appropriate item wording are wonderful additions. Clinical management of ADHD demands strong assessment tools, and the ADHD Rating Scale–5 meets this need. It is a clear choice for screening, assessing, and monitoring treatment outcome among children and adolescents with ADHD in clinic or school settings.”

—Charlotte Johnston, PhD, Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada


“The release of the ADHD Rating Scale–5 is cause for celebration. Like prior versions, which are widely used in clinical and research settings, the updated scale is psychometrically sound and is based on extensive reliability and validity data. Adhering to DSM-5, the authors have improved the assessment of ADHD-associated impairments, and have also added important material on adolescent assessment. The chapter on interpretation and use provides an unusually clear and cogent discussion of how the scale should be used for diagnosis and screening. This is a trustworthy guide for clinicians and researchers and is also a useful tool for training graduate students, interns, and residents.”

—Stephen V. Faraone, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York Upstate Medical University


“DuPaul and colleagues have created another excellent, psychometrically sound parent and teacher rating scale to assist in the screening and diagnosis of ADHD. Using DSM-5 criteria, the authors have improved this version of the scale by adding developmentally appropriate wording for adolescents as well as ratings of impairment. Like the previous version, this scale will soon become the standard in the field.”

—Steven W. Evans, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Co-Director, Center for Intervention Research in Schools, Ohio University

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Technical Information
The ADHD Rating Scale–5: Home Version and School Version are rating scales based on the diagnostic criteria for ADHD as described in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Both versions of the ADHD Rating Scale–5 consist of two symptom subscales, Inattention (9 items) and Hyperactivity–Impulsivity (9 items), as well as a Total Scale (18 items). In addition, the ADHD Rating Scale–5 assesses six domains of impairment that are common among children with ADHD: relationships with significant others (family members for the home version and teachers for the school version), peer relationships, academic functioning, behavioral functioning, homework performance, and self-esteem. When using the ADHD Rating Scale–5, respondents complete each set of impairment items twice, first after rating the inattention symptom items and again after rating the hyperactivity–impulsivity items. The Home Version of the scale is available in English and Spanish. Both versions of the ADHD Rating Scale–5 have separate forms for children (ages 5–10 years) and adolescents (ages 11–17 years) that incorporate age-appropriate symptom descriptions as per DSM-5. The normative sample included 2,079 parents, each of whom rated one child in their family, and 1,070 teachers, each of whom rated one boy and one girl randomly selected from their classrooms. The demographic characteristics of the normative sample for both the home and school versions of the scale closely correspond with 2013 estimates of U.S. census data. Scoring templates are provided that convert raw scores to percentile scores as a function of child gender and age group (5–7, 8–10, 11–13, 14–17 years).

Reliability
The internal consistency of symptom ratings for the Inattention, Hyperactivity–Impulsivity, and Total scales was high; alpha coefficients for these scales for both the Home and School versions and for both age groups (child and adolescent) ranged from .89 to .96. Test–retest reliability over approximately 6 weeks across the three symptom factors ranged from .90 to .93 for the School version and from .80 to .87 for the Home version. Test–retest reliability for the six impairment domains ranged from .62 to .88 for the School version and from .62 to .90 for the Home Version.

Validity
The factorial validity of the ADHD Rating Scale–5 was examined by confirmatory factor analyses, which strongly supported the expected two-factor structure (Inattention, Hyperactivity–Impulsivity) for both parent and teacher symptom ratings, as well as a six-factor structure for parent and teacher ratings of impairment, with each factor (consisting of two items) corresponding with one of the six domains of impairment assessed. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by the pattern of correlations between subscales on the ADHD Rating Scale–5 and corresponding scores on the Conners 3 parent and teacher rating scales, the Impairment Rating Scale rated by parents and teachers, direct observations of academic engaged time and off-task behavior, and samples of student classwork. The predictive validity and clinical utility of the scale was demonstrated by logistic regression analyses and predictive power statistics examining the ability of scores on the symptom dimensions to predict ADHD diagnostic status, as determined by a best practice multimethod assessment battery.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction to the ADHD Rating Scales

2. Factor Analysis

3. Standardization and Normative Data

4. Reliability and Validity

5. Interpretation and Use of the Scales for Diagnostic and Screening Purposes

6. Interpretation and Use of the Scales for Evaluating Treatment Outcome

Appendix. Rating Scales and Scoring Sheets

Attention and Behavior Rating Form, Home Version: Child (English)

Attention and Behavior Rating Form, Home Version: Adolescent (English)

Attention and Behavior Rating Form, Home Version: Child (Spanish)

Attention and Behavior Rating Form, Home Version: Adolescent (Spanish)

ADHD Rating Scale–5, Home Version: Symptom Scoring Sheet for Boys

ADHD Rating Scale–5, Home Version: Symptom Scoring Sheet for Girls

ADHD Rating Scale–5, Home Version: Impairment Scoring Sheet for Boys

ADHD Rating Scale–5, Home Version: Impairment Scoring Sheet for Girls

Attention and Behavior Rating Form, School Version: Child

Attention and Behavior Rating Form, School Version: Adolescent

ADHD Rating Scale–5, School Version: Symptom Scoring Sheet for Boys

ADHD Rating Scale–5, School Version: Symptom Scoring Sheet for Girls

ADHD Rating Scale–5, School Version: Impairment Scoring Sheet for Boys

ADHD Rating Scale–5, School Version: Impairment Scoring Sheet for Girls

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About the Authors

George J. DuPaul, PhD, is Professor of School Psychology at Lehigh University. He is a Fellow of Divisions 16 (School Psychology), 53 (Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology), and 54 (Pediatric Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is past president of the Society for the Study of School Psychology. He is a recipient of the APA Division 16 Senior Scientist Award and was named to the Children and Adults with ADHD Hall of Fame. Dr. DuPaul's primary research interests are school-based assessment and treatment of disruptive behavior disorders, pediatric school psychology, and assessment and treatment of college students with ADHD. His publications include over 190 journal articles and book chapters on assessment and treatment of ADHD, as well as the coauthored ADHD in the Schools, Third Edition, and ADHD Rating Scale–5 for Children and Adolescents.

• All titles by George J. DuPaul

Thomas J. Power, PhD, is Director of the Center for Management of ADHD at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor of School Psychology in Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He has published widely on the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD.

• All titles by Thomas J. Power

Arthur D. Anastopoulos, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he also directs the ADHD Clinic. He regularly presents his work at scientific meetings and has published widely on the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with ADHD.

Robert Reid, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests center on treatment of attention-related problems and cognitive strategy instruction. He is coauthor of Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities, Second Edition.

• Author's website
• All titles by Robert Reid

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Audience

Child/adolescent clinical and school psychologists, neuropsychologists, child/adolescent psychiatrists, educational diagnosticians, special educators, psychopathology researchers, and pediatricians.

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Previous editions published by Guilford:

First Edition, © 1998
ISBN: 9781572304239

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New to this edition:

• Updated for DSM-5.
• Separate adolescent versions of both home and school rating scales.
• Includes functional impairment items linked to each symptom dimension (inattention symptoms and hyperactive–impulsive symptoms).
• Full analysis of the revised scale's psychometric properties.