LAUSR

Objective: To examine the screening ability of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for ADHD subtypes in a clinical sample. Method: Parents of 523 children (3 to 17 years old) referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services completed the Spanish version of the SDQ and the ADHD Rating Scale–IV. Receiver operating curve (ROC) curve analyses and likelihood ratios (LRs) were conducted. Results: The LR results indicated that the 8/10 cutoff showed the highest diagnostic accuracy. The sensitivity of the SDQ 8/10 cutoff for the three subtypes was significantly different: 84.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [75.58, 89.90]) of ADHD combined subtype (ADHD-Co), 25.0% (95% CI = [17.55, 34.30]) of ADHD predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-I), and 77.8% (95% CI = [68.71, 84.83]) of ADHD predominantly hyperactive/impulsive subtype (ADHD-H). Sex and age differences were found. These screening differences were also found when using the 7/10 cutoff or the SDQ predictive algorithm. Conclusion: Our study supports the use of the SDQ in the screening for ADHD. However, not all ADHD subtypes are equally screened.