Parent and teacher ratings of hyperactivity are compared with an objective measure of activity level (actigraphy) for 19 ADHD children and 18 control subjects. All subjects wore the actigraph during a full day diagnostic assessment. Mean actigraph scores were calculated for the structured (including time during the Continuous Performance Test (CPT)) and unstructured element of the assessment. The structured, unstructured and CPT settings were significantly differentiated for the sample as whole by actigraphic measures. However no significant difference in activity level was found when we compared the subgroups (Controls, medicated ADHD, non-medicated ADHD). Parent ratings were not correlated with actigraphic measures in any setting. Teacher ratings on the Hyperactivity Index were significantly correlated with activity during the structured and unstructured setting for the whole sample and the ADHD subjects. These data indicate that teacher ratings of hyperactivity are more reliable than parent ratings on identical items when one is interested in gross motor activity. Issues concerning the situational relevance of rating scales and applications of actigraphic technology are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.33474 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Massicotte, Yannick. |
| Contributors | Hechtman, L. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Psychiatry.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001770412, proquestno: MQ70776, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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