Influence of Child Age and Gender on Parental Reporting of ADHD
Symptoms: A Brief Report
Abstract
Historically, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been
observed at a higher rate in boys compared to girls with some traits
being more typical for certain ages than others. Furthermore, studies
show that parental reporting of psychopathological symptoms plays a
significant role in the diagnostic process, and its accuracy may be
affected by a range of sociodemographic factors. The current research
investigates whether parental endorsement of children’s ADHD symptoms
based on DSM-5 criteria is uniquely influenced by child gender and
developmental stage (age), while controlling for subjective social
status and validated measures of cognitive self-regulation, such as
negative affectivity, surgency, and effortful control. The study
included a cross-sectional, non-clinical sample of parents ( N =
132) with children aged 3-6 years (66 girls and 66 boys). It was
hypothesized that, accounting for control variables, parent endorsement
of ADHD symptoms would be higher for boys compared to girls and higher
for younger compared to older children. The data were analyzed using
hierarchical multiple regression, with negative affectivity, surgency,
effortful control, subjective social status, gender, age, and age-gender
interaction as predictors. Overall ADHD symptom endorsement,
hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention were fit as the outcomes. The
resulting three models were statistically significant showing that
parents’ endorsement of ADHD symptoms was higher for boys than girls and
lower for older than younger children. These findings emphasize the
importance of considering a variety of self-regulation measures to
produce a more objective diagnosis of ADHD.