Faculty Publications

DSM-5 And Other Symptom Thresholds For Adhd: Which Is The Best Predictor Of Impairment In College Students?

Document Type

Article

Keywords

ADHD, diagnostic criteria, DSM-5, DSM-IV, emerging adults

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Attention Disorders

Volume

23

Issue

13

First Page

1637

Last Page

1646

Abstract

Objective: Approximately 5% of adults have ADHD. Despite recommendations regarding the diagnosis of emerging adults, there is not a strong consensus regarding the ideal method for diagnosing ADHD in both emerging and mature adults. We were interested in determining whether a threshold of four, five, or six ADHD symptoms would be associated with significantly different levels of functional impairment and be more or less indicative of a potential ADHD diagnosis. Method: We examined the relation between functional impairment and these ADHD symptom thresholds in 2,577 college students. Results: Our findings suggest that none of these symptom thresholds are differentially better at predicting functional impairment. Conclusion: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) threshold of five symptoms for ages 17 years and older is not necessarily predictive of ADHD-related impairment in college students and may not be preferable to other thresholds. Options for resolving this diagnostic dilemma are discussed.

Department

Department of Psychology

Original Publication Date

11-1-2019

DOI of published version

10.1177/1087054716629216

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Language

en

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