Can I have Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder?

Have you ever felt that you couldn’t sit in your place when you should and had urge to get up and do something else? Or have you felt that you couldn’t focus on one activity at a time and could be easily distracted by small things surround you? If you have answered yes to those questions, you may consider taking an attention deficit hyperactive disorder test (or ADHD test).

Right now, you may be wondering what’s ADHD? Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is, just like the name suggests, a condition where people suffer from a series of behavior problems, lack of attention and hyperactivity to be specific, and they have negative effects on people daily lives. People affected by this disorder will present many symptoms that are separated into two categories, inattentive and hyper-active impulsive symptoms. Often fail to give close attentions to schoolwork or project which result in making small mistakes is an example of inattentive symptom. Often talks excessively will be an instance of hyperactive symptom. Thus, according to DSM-V or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition, if a child has 6 of the enlisted symptoms in the manual or 5 for an adult, he or she will be considered to have ADHD.

Like many mental disorders, there are multiple tests created to detect ADHD among children and adults, namely ASRS or Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. It’s a 22 items test developed by world health organization or WHO to differentiate the two types of symptoms of ADHD among adults, inattentive and hyperactive, since some people can have only one of the two symptoms.

To this point, you may be asking, “yea, but how can we be sure that this test is reliable or trustworthy? Other than the fact that it’s created by WHO?” It’s a good question and the answer is yes. There are numerous studies on psychometric properties of this test. One example is a study done in Korea and researchers conclude that ASRS showed high test-retest reliability, good internal consistency and high correlation with other ADHD test, such as CAARS or Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale. Another example would be a research done on college and university students. This study also comes out with similar conclusion that ASRS is an easy-to-use and reliable test when it’s applied to post-secondary students.

However, what’s the point of knowing the above information? Because despite what people think about ADHD, it’s not just a mental disorder affecting Children. It also affects adult as well and often it is accompanied by depression and anxiety disorders. In fact, 4–5% of United States adult population has ADHD. Furthermore, many adults don’t even seek help or diagnostics, so there are more potential people affected by this problem without knowing it. Hence, if you think you have problem of inattention or hyperactivity, you may consider taking a test before it disturbs your life.

Citations

Adult ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder). (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/other-related-conditions/adult-adhd

Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder — DSM-5. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/ADHD Fact Sheet.pdf

Background Information — Harvard Medical School. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/adhd/background_memo_rev.pdf

Five Types of ADHD Tests — BrainCore of Greater Boston. (2014). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.braincoreofgreaterboston.com/five-types-adhd-tests/

Gray, S., Woltering, S., Mawjee, K., & Tannock, R. (2014). The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): Utility in college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. PeerJ, 2.

Kim, J., Lee, E., & Joung, Y. (2013). The WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale: Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version. Psychiatry Investigation Psychiatry Investig, 10(1), 41.

New diagnostic criteria for ADHD. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.helpforadd.com/2013/june.htm

The Many Faces of ADHD: ADHD in the U.S. Population. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://addca.com/adhd-coach-training/ADHD-Blog-Details/the_many_faces_of_adhd_adhd_in_the_u.s._population_1/