ADHD Rating Scales' Susceptibility to Faking in a College Student Sample

Open Access
- Author:
- Fisher, April Bryington
- Graduate Program:
- School Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 10, 2006
- Committee Members:
- Marley W Watkins, Committee Member
Barbara Schaefer, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Rayne Audrey Sperling, Committee Member
Brian A Rabian, Committee Member - Keywords:
- college students
ADHD
clinical psychology
disability determinations - Abstract:
- Longitudinal research has demonstrated that symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may continue to cause impairment into adulthood. Due to the nature of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, clinicians must often rely on self-report data to make a diagnosis of the disorder in adults. However, self-report data is subject to intentional distortion, an issue which becomes a major concern when assessing for the disorder in the college population because students may perceive that there are benefits to having a documented diagnosis, such as helpful academic accommodations and prescriptions for medications. The purpose of the present study was to examine the ability of college students to fake a DSM-based diagnosis of ADHD on two different self-report measures, the ADHD Behavior Checklist (Murphy & Barkley, 1995) and the College ADHD Response Evaluation (CARE; Glutting, Sheslow, & Adams, 2002). Results indicated that college students without a history of ADHD diagnosis were significantly more likely than chance to be successful at faking the symptoms of ADHD on both rating scales. Approximately 93%, 69%, and 77% of participants met ADHD criteria based on the CARE factor-based items, the CARE DSM-IV symptom counts, and the ADHD Behavior Checklist items, respectively. Neither scale was more successful than the other at preventing false positives. Comparisons to other research and implications for practice are discussed.