Can Self-Reported Behavioral Scales Assess Executive Function Deficits?

Abstract

One of the suspected sources of negative outcomes associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been a deficit in executive functions (EFD). Although self-report questionnaires purport to assess behavioral concomitants of EFDs, little is known about their informativeness. The aim was to examine the association between self-reported behavioral concomitants of EFDs and functional outcomes among adults with ADHD. Subjects were adults with (N = 200) and without (N = 138) DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. The Current Behavior Scale (CBS) was used as a proxy for EFDs. The 50th percentile of the ADHD subjects' total CBS scores explained the most variance in the functional outcomes compared with other cutoffs, and it identified subjects with more impaired global functioning, more comorbidities, and lower socioeconomic status. Scores on the CBS above the 50th percentile identify adults with ADHD at significantly higher risk for functional morbidity beyond that conferred by the diagnosis of ADHD alone.