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Diagnostic Accuracy of the French Version of the Adult Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Screening Scale for DSM-5 (ASRS-5)

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Abstract

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often persists into adulthood. However, few screening tools have been adapted to assess adult ADHD using the DSM-5 criteria. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of a French version of the ADHD Self-Report Screening for DSM-5 (ASRS-5). This multicentric cross-sectional study included 557 participants: 309 adult ADHD outpatients without bipolar disorder (BD)/borderline personality disorder (BPD) (n = 236) or with BD/BPD (n = 36) and 285 adults without ADHD who were either healthy volunteers (n = 248) or outpatients with BD or BPD (n = 37). Measures included ADHD diagnosis and the ASRS-5. The ASRS-5 was a good predictor of ADHD diagnosis (cut-off score ≥ 13/24: sensitivity = 84.3%, specificity = 91.9%) in the sample of adult outpatients without comorbid disorders/healthy controls. Performances were lower with this cut-off score in some subgroups, notably low-severity ADHD symptomatology (sensitivity = 63.5%) and participants with BD or BPD (sensitivity = 91.7%, specificity = 54.1%). The French ASRS-5 had acceptable screening properties, even if its performance varied according to clinical variables. Further evidence is needed for patients with comorbid disorders having overlapping symptoms.

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Author notes

  1. Nader Perroud and Régis Lopez contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Prison Health, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Chemin du Petit Bel Air 2, 1226, Thônex, Switzerland

    Stéphanie Baggio

  2. Office of Corrections, Canton Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Stéphanie Baggio

  3. University Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France

    Sophie Bayard

  4. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Sophie Bayard

  5. EPSYLON EA 4556, Montpellier, France

    Sophie Bayard

  6. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Nantes, Nantes, France

    Clémence Cabelguen

  7. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

    Martin Desseilles

  8. Department of Emergency Psychiatry & Acute Care, CHU Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Marie Gachet

  9. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Charlotte Kraemer & Sébastien Weibel

  10. Division of Psychiatric Specialties, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Hélène Richard-Lepouriel, Rosetta Nicastro & Nader Perroud

  11. Clinique du sommeil, CHU Pellegrin Boreaux, USR CNRS 3413, Université Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Stéphanie Bioulac

  12. CHU Nantes, Movement - Interactions - Performance, MIP, EA 4334, Nantes Université, Nantes, France

    Anne Sauvaget

  13. Inserm U1114, Strasbourg, France

    Sébastien Weibel

  14. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Nader Perroud

  15. Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Nader Perroud

  16. Department of Neurology, CHU Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Régis Lopez

  17. Inserm U1061, Montpellier, France

    Régis Lopez

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  1. Stéphanie Baggio
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  2. Sophie Bayard
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Correspondence to Stéphanie Baggio.

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Conflict of Interest

Stéphanie Baggio, Sophie Bayard, Clémence Cabelguen, Martin Desseilles, Marie Gachet, Charlotte Kraemer, Hélène Richard-Lepouriel, Rosetta Nicastro, Stéphanie Bouliac, Anne Sauvaget, Sébastien Weibel, Nader Perroud and Régis Lopez declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Baggio, S., Bayard, S., Cabelguen, C. et al. Diagnostic Accuracy of the French Version of the Adult Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Screening Scale for DSM-5 (ASRS-5). J Psychopathol Behav Assess 43, 367–375 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-020-09822-7

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