Clinical Application of the Korean Personality Rating Scale for Children in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare the Korean Personality Rating Scale for Children (K-PRC) profile between children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing children. We also aimed to investigate the association of K-PRC and ADHD symptoms. METHODS: Ninety-nine youth (age 8.3+/-2.4 years, 72 boys) with ADHD and 84 controls (age 9.2+/-2.5 years, 43 boys) were recruited from the Department of Pediatric Psychiatry of the Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital. Diagnoses of ADHD and comorbid psychiatric disorders were confirmed with the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). The parents of the subjects completed the ADHD rating scale, and K-PRC. Independent t-tests, analysis of covariance, partial correlation analyses, and Mc Nemar test were used for analysis. RESULTS: Children and adolescents with ADHD showed higher K-PRC scores in verbal development, physical development, depression, delinquency, hyperactivity, family dysfunction and psychoticism. Delinquency and hyperactivity were significantly correlated with parent-rated ADHD rating scales and ADHD scores on K-SADS-PL. The hyperactive/impulsive and combined subtypes showed higher scores on hyperactivity and delinquency than the inattentive subtype, and the inattentive subtype showed higher scores on depression and social dysfunction of the K-PRC. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that K-PRC could be used to comprehensively evaluate symptoms, combined psychopathologies, developmental delay and family dysfunction of children with ADHD.