Measuring clinical outcomes in adult ADHD clinics: psychometrics of a new scale, the adult ADHD Clinical Outcome Scale
2024

New Scale for Measuring Outcomes in Adult ADHD Clinics

Sample size: 148 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Dimitrios Adamis, Jasmin Singh, Iulian Coada, Margo Wrigley, Blánaid Gavin, Fiona McNicholas

Primary Institution: Sligo Mental Health Services Adult ADHD Clinic, Sligo, Ireland

Hypothesis

The study aims to present the psychometrics of a new outcome measure for adult ADHD clinics.

Conclusion

The ACOS shows promising psychometric properties and is suitable for use as a clinician-rated outcome measure in adult ADHD clinics.

Supporting Evidence

  • The ACOS demonstrated high interrater reliability with a correlation of r = 0.868.
  • Concurrent validity was established with significant correlations between ACOS and AAQoL (r = -0.573) and WFIRS (r = 0.477).
  • The exploratory factor analysis revealed four distinct factors related to ADHD symptoms and comorbidities.

Takeaway

Researchers created a new scale to help doctors measure how well treatments are working for adults with ADHD, and it seems to work well.

Methodology

The study involved administering the ADHD Clinical Outcome Scale (ACOS) to consecutive adults attending an ADHD clinic, with additional self-report scales for validation.

Potential Biases

The clinicians rating the scales worked together, which may have influenced their ratings.

Limitations

The study was conducted at a single center, and the sample may not be representative of the broader population.

Participant Demographics

The mean age of participants was 30.1 years, with 54.7% being female.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.001

Confidence Interval

95%: 0.786–0.867

Statistical Significance

p<0.001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1192/bjo.2024.739

Want to read the original?

Access the complete publication on the publisher's website

View Original Publication