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An Examination of the Parent-Rated Adolescent Academic Problems Checklist: What Do Parents Really Know?

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Abstract

Adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience academic difficulties, but there are limitations to current methods of measuring these problems. The parent-rated Adolescent Academic Problems Checklist (AAPC) is a particularly promising measure, as the items were derived from concerns of parents and teachers of adolescents with ADHD and the scale demonstrates good concurrent validity and treatment sensitivity (Sibley et al. in School Psychology Quarterly, 29(4), 422, 2014; Sibley et al. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(8), 699, 2016b). Because parents do not observe some academic behaviors queried on the AAPC, they may provide inaccurate responses to some items, leading to measurement error. In the current study, we sought to (1) determine the extent to which parents of adolescents with ADHD possess knowledge of the academic behaviors assessed on the AAPC, (2) determine if the scale maintains the two-factor structure (academic skills and disruptive behavior) and continues to relate to indicators of academic functioning after removing items associated with low parent knowledge, and (3) validate findings with the revised scale in a separate sample of adolescents with ADHD. Results identified five items for which the majority of parents reported little to no knowledge. When removing items with low parental knowledge, the AAPC’s model fit was maintained and the two-factor model remained a better fit than the one-factor model. The relationships between the revised subscales and measures of academic functioning remained significant and largely equivalent to the original version. The revised model demonstrated similar fit in the second sample and was also related to indicators of academic functioning. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

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Data and/or Code Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study may be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A140356 to Ohio University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. National Institute of Mental Health. Title: Integrative Data Analysis of Psychosocial Treatment Studies for Adolescent ADHD. (Sibley/Coxe Co-PIs). R03 MH116397. Amount:$100,000 (Direct Costs); 2018–2020. National Institute of Mental Health. Title: Effectiveness of MI Enhanced Family Based Behavior Therapy for Adolescents with ADHD. (Sibley, PI). R01 MH106587. Amount:$1,750,000; 2015–2020. Klingenstein 3rdGeneration Foundation Fellowship in ADHD. Title: Optimizing Psychosocial Treatments for Adolescents with ADHD. (Sibley, PI). Amount: $60,000; 2014–2016. Institute of Education Sciences. Title: A Summer Preparatory Program for Middle and High School Students with ADHD. R324A120169. (Pelham, PI). Amount:$3,500,000; 2012–2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ohio University, Athens, USA

    Kari Benson, Steven W. Evans, Darcey M. Allan & Julie Sarno Owens

  2. University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Margaret H. Sibley

  3. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, USA

    George J. DuPaul

Authors
  1. Kari Benson
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  2. Steven W. Evans
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  3. Margaret H. Sibley
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  4. Darcey M. Allan
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  5. Julie Sarno Owens
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  6. George J. DuPaul
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Kari Benson, Steven W. Evans; Margaret H. Sibley, Darcey M. Allan, Julie Sarno Owens, George J. DuPaul; Methodology: Kari Benson, Steven W. Evans; Margaret H. Sibley, Darcey M. Allan; Formal analysis and investigation: Kari Benson; Darcey M. Allan; Writing—original draft preparation: Kari Benson; Writing—review and editing: Kari Benson, Steven W. Evans; Margaret H. Sibley, Darcey M. Allan, Julie Sarno Owens, George J. DuPaul; Funding acquisition: Steven W. Evans; Margaret H. Sibley, Julie Sarno Owens, George J. DuPaul.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kari Benson.

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Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Boards at Ohio University, Lehigh University, and Florida International University. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from legal guardians and informed assent was obtained from their adolescents.

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Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

Kari Benson, Steven W. Evans, Margaret H. Sibley, Darcey M. Allan, Julie Sarno Owens and George J. DuPaul declare they have no conflict of interest.

Experiment Participants

All procedures involving human participants performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Benson, K., Evans, S.W., Sibley, M.H. et al. An Examination of the Parent-Rated Adolescent Academic Problems Checklist: What Do Parents Really Know?. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 44, 151–164 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-021-09942-8

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