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A cross-cultural comparison between samples of Brazilian and German children with ADHD/HD using the Child Behavior Checklist

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Abstract

Introduction

This study aims to assess cross-cultural similarities and differences in broadband psychopathology in two naturalistic clinical samples of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) combined type according to DSM-IV criteria or with Hyperkinetic Disorder (HD) according to ICD-10 criteria.

Methods

We compared two clinical samples of children with ADHD combined type (Brazil, N = 248) and HD (Germany; N = 154) to controls (Brazil N = 71; Germany N = 135) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). ROC-curves (Receiver Operating Characteristic) were determined to evaluate the discriminating validity of the CBCL Attention Problem scale. A two-factorial ANOVA was computed across all 8 scales of the CBCL.

Results

Although Brazilian parents reported significantly higher scores on all CBCL scales than German parents (P < 0.05), a similar CBCL profile was detected in both cultures.

Conclusion

Despite the use of different diagnostic systems (DSM-IV vs. ICD-10) and the presence of other clinical differences, the similar broadband psychopathological profile of the CBCL in the two samples provides evidence that dimensional symptoms associated with the categorical diagnosis of ADHD combined type might be comparable in two clinical settings with diverse cultural background.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

    Veit Roessner, Andreas Becker & Aribert Rothenberger

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Luis Augusto Rohde

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

    Tobias Banaschewski

  4. Serviço de Psiquiatria da Infância e Adolescência, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Luis Augusto Rohde

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  1. Veit Roessner
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  2. Andreas Becker
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  3. Aribert Rothenberger
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Correspondence to Luis Augusto Rohde.

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Roessner, V., Becker, A., Rothenberger, A. et al. A cross-cultural comparison between samples of Brazilian and German children with ADHD/HD using the Child Behavior Checklist. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosc 257, 352–359 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-007-0738-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-007-0738-y

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