Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
ARTICLESFamilial Clustering of Symptoms and Disruptive Behaviors in Multiplex Families With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Section snippets
Sample
One hundred thirty-two ASP families including 283 affected members and 256 parents (131 mothers, 125 fathers) completed phenotype investigations. Seven parents refused to participate in the psychiatric evaluations and one parent was deceased. Families were ascertained through at least 1 ASP from the following sources: clinical referrals (n = 44), schools (n = 8), and responses to advertisements (n = 80) in newsletters (e.g., CHADD), community newspapers, or flyers distributed at parent meetings
RESULTS
For all analyses except tests of familial clustering by sex of the ASPs, the eldest two affected siblings were used per family to ensure independence of the sibling pairs. The diagnostic characteristics and demographics of the eldest and second eldest ASP members are shown in Table 2.
Approximately 70% were boys, and the mean IQ was above average, with the siblings differing in age by about 3 years. Eight families (6%) had an ASP member with a Full Scale IQ score between 70 and 80. The majority
DISCUSSION
Understanding the genetic etiology of ADHD could significantly improve our diagnosis, early detection, and the development of better interventions in the treatment of this condition. In the current study, we use ASP families to elucidate phenotypic variability that may reflect underlying genetic heterogeneity. By containing at least 1 ASP, this sample can be considered “familial” and may represent a more homogeneous sample than one ascertained through a single ADHD proband. The rate of ADHD in
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This work was supported by NIMH grant MH58277 to Dr. Smalley. The authors thank Erica Carr, Erin Cantwell, Amy Lightbody, Rita Cantor, and Art Woodward for assistance on this project, and all the families that contributed their time to this research. This project was inspired by Dennis Cantwell's lifelong commitment to understanding and treating ADHD.