Emotional Symptoms in Inattentive Primary School Children: A Population-Based Study
Lin Sørensen1*,
Kenneth Hugdahl2,
and
Astri Johansen Lundervold2
1 University of Bergen
2 University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lin.sorensen{at}psybp.uib.no.
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Abstract |
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Objective: The present study investigates teacher and parent reports of inattention and emotional symptoms in 6,229 primary school children. Method: The assessment included the Emotional Symptoms subscale and the Impact scale from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the inattention items from the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham IV Questionnaire. Results: Children defined as inattentive showed a high risk of being defined as high scorers on the Emotional Symptoms subscale. A high score on both the Inattention and Emotional Symptoms subscales was associated with a high impact score. Teachers but not parents reported a higher risk of such co-occurrence of symptoms in girls than in boys. Conclusion: Inattentive children should be screened for emotional problems by use of the multi-informants method. (J. of Att. Dis. XXXX; XX(X) xx-xx)
