Morehead State University
Subclincal Depression Masquerading as Adult AD/HD on the Brown ADD Scales: A Preliminary Study
Institution
Morehead State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Sean Reilley
Abstract
Pronounced attention problems, common in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), are associated with academic, occupational, and social difficulties. Self-report inventories, behavioral attention measures, and clinical interviews are frequently used in the AD/HD diagnostic process. Differentiating between primary attention problems in AD/HD and secondary attentional features of psychiatric disorders, like depression, is complicated when childhood attention and/or mood symptoms exist. A current gap and problem in the existing research literature is a lack of comparative self-report and behavioral attention data from individuals with secondary attention problems due to depression. The present study investigated whether college individuals with subclinical depression and an absence of childhood AD/HD symptoms would score significantly higher and in the AD/HD range on the Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scales relative to a non-depressed control group without AD/HD history. Subclinical depression was defined by endorsement of moderate clinical depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory-2 and corroborated with other psychosocial history and self-report data during a 1-hour questionnaire-based study. Self-reported attention problems were assessed using the Brown ADD Scales. Consistent with expectations, the total score on the Brown ADD Scale as well as all Brown subscales were significantly higher and above AD/HD threshold for the subclinical depressed group relative to reports of college controls. Although these cross-sectional findings are preliminary, the need for appropriate comparative clinical data is underscored in that subclinical depression in this study manifested in the highly probable range for adult AD/HD on the Brown ADD Scale.
Subclincal Depression Masquerading as Adult AD/HD on the Brown ADD Scales: A Preliminary Study
Pronounced attention problems, common in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), are associated with academic, occupational, and social difficulties. Self-report inventories, behavioral attention measures, and clinical interviews are frequently used in the AD/HD diagnostic process. Differentiating between primary attention problems in AD/HD and secondary attentional features of psychiatric disorders, like depression, is complicated when childhood attention and/or mood symptoms exist. A current gap and problem in the existing research literature is a lack of comparative self-report and behavioral attention data from individuals with secondary attention problems due to depression. The present study investigated whether college individuals with subclinical depression and an absence of childhood AD/HD symptoms would score significantly higher and in the AD/HD range on the Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scales relative to a non-depressed control group without AD/HD history. Subclinical depression was defined by endorsement of moderate clinical depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory-2 and corroborated with other psychosocial history and self-report data during a 1-hour questionnaire-based study. Self-reported attention problems were assessed using the Brown ADD Scales. Consistent with expectations, the total score on the Brown ADD Scale as well as all Brown subscales were significantly higher and above AD/HD threshold for the subclinical depressed group relative to reports of college controls. Although these cross-sectional findings are preliminary, the need for appropriate comparative clinical data is underscored in that subclinical depression in this study manifested in the highly probable range for adult AD/HD on the Brown ADD Scale.