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Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST): validity and reliability in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Abstract

Studies highlight that the functional deficits in different areas of a subject’s life are an important characteristic that define adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). On the other hand, in the scientific literature, there are no evaluation instruments with psychometric studies concerning their reliability and validity for this variable in adults with ADHD. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST), regarding its reliability and validity, as a measure of adult ADHD functioning. A case–control study was carried out in a sample of 152 adult subjects (88 with ADHD diagnosis and 64 healthy controls). The psychometric properties of the instrument were analyzed regarding feasibility, internal consistency, concurrent validity, discriminant validity (ADHD vs. controls) and factor analysis. For the total scale, Cronbach’s alpha was of 0.83, and strong values in the measures of its discriminant capacity were obtained, AUC ROC = 0.98, IC (0.96–0.99). The test is reliable as the internal consistency was high. Significant differences are observed in the correlation between domains, between healthy subjects and subjects with ADHD. ADHD subjects showed impairments in all areas of their life, especially in the cognitive functioning domain, followed by the autonomy, occupational functioning and interpersonal relationships domains. The FAST is an easily administered short interview and has good psychometric properties, in terms of reliability and validity, as a measure of the functional level in adults with ADHD. The study also showed that subjects with adult ADHD may be functionally impaired.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the Adult ADHD Programme of the Department of Psychiatry of Hospital Vall d’Hebron (Barcelona) as well as the staff of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona Bipolar Disorder Programme. We also thank the patients and healthy controls who participated in the study for their kind cooperation. This study was supported in part by Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (2011/0080) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FIS(PI12/01139). Sofía Rotger is funded by the IRBLleida through a POST-MIR grant. Maria Mur is an IP from Spanish FIS-MSC Grant (PI11/01956). The authors of this report would like to thank the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, (PI12/00912) PN 2008-2011the Instituto de Salud Carlos III- Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación; Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional.Unión Europea. Una manera de hacer Europa, CIBERSAM, the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca del DIUE de la Generalitat de Catalunya to the Bipolar Disorders Group (2009 SGR 1022).

Conflict of interest

The author (s) S.R. and M.M declare that they have no conflict of interest. The author (s) J.A.R.Q was on the speakers’ bureau and/or acted as consultant for Eli Lilly, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, Shire, Lundbeck and Rubió in the last 3 years. He also received travel awards (air tickets + hotel) for taking part in psychiatric meetings from Janssen-Cilag, Rubió, Shire, and Eli Lilly. The ADHD Programme chaired by him received unrestricted educational and research support from the following pharmaceutical companies in the last 3 years: Eli Lilly, Janssen-Cilag, Shire and Rubió. Dr. Vieta has received grants and served as consultant, advisor or CME speaker for the following entities: Adamed, Alexza, Almirall, AstraZeneca, Bial, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Elan, Eli Lilly, Ferrer, Forest Research Institute, Gedeon Richter, Glaxo-Smith-Kline, Janssen-Cilag, Jazz, Johnson & Johnson, Lundbeck, Merck, Novartis, Organon, Otsuka, Pfizer, Pierre-Fabre, Qualigen, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, Shering-Plough, Shire, Solvay, Sunovion, Takeda, Teva, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CIBERSAM), the Seventh European Framework Programme (ENBREC), the Stanley Medical Research Institute, United Biosource Corporation and Wyeth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRBLleida (Biomedicine Research Institute), University of Lleida, Avda. Alcalde Rovira Roure no 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain

    Sofía Rotger

  2. Adult ADHD Program, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Pg. de la Vall d’Hebron, 119-129, 08035, Barcelona, Spain

    Vanesa Richarte, Mariana Nogueira, Montse Corrales, Rosa Bosch, Raquel Vidal, Sergi Valero, Miguel Casas & Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga

  3. Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain

    Vanesa Richarte, Mariana Nogueira, Rosa Bosch, Raquel Vidal, Sergi Valero, Miguel Casas & Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Pg. de la Vall d’Hebron, 119-129, 08035, Barcelona, Spain

    Mariana Nogueira, Rosa Bosch, Raquel Vidal, Lidia Marfil, Miguel Casas & Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga

  5. Barcelona Bipolar Disorders Unit, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Eduard Vieta

  6. Barcelona Bipolar Disorders Unit, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Eduard Vieta, José Manuel Goikolea, Imma Torres & Adriane Rosa

  7. Barcelona Bipolar Disorders Unit, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Eduard Vieta, José Manuel Goikolea, Imma Torres & Adriane Rosa

  8. Bipolar Disorders Program and INCT for Translational Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Adriane Rosa

  9. Psychiatric Service, IRBLleida (Biomedicine Research Institute), Hospital Santa Maria, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain

    María Mur

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  1. Sofía Rotger
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  15. Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga
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Correspondence to Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga.

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Rotger, S., Richarte, V., Nogueira, M. et al. Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST): validity and reliability in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 264, 719–727 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-014-0501-0

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