Identification of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Using Parent-teacher Administered ADHD Rating Scale-IV among Pre-school Children of Belagavi City

A BSTRACT Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder with a persistent pattern of distractibility, hyperactivity, restlessness, and other disturbances of executive function. In school-aged children, ADHD has long been found with both anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders. In preschoolers, these disorders appear to be similar to what is found in older children. ADHD is also associated with a number of psychiatric disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders which increase its burden and complexity of management. The objective of the study was to screen and determine the prevalence of ADHD in pre-school children of Belagavi City using the ADHD rating scale-IV. Method: An observational study was conducted in pre-schools of Belagavi city from January to June 2023. A total of 401 participants within the age group of 3 to 5 years were included in this study. The ADHD Rating scale-IV was administered by the parents and teachers and the scoring was performed by the researcher. On the basis of scoring, boys with scores above 32 and 38 by parents and teachers respectively, whereas girls with scores of 24 by both parents and teachers were categorized under the ADHD population. Results: We estimated 16.4% ADHD prevalence in pre-school children of Belagavi city rated by both teacher and parent and included both male and female participants. The ADHD prevalence only by single respondent considered as parent was 26.6% and only by teacher was 21.6%. Conclusions: Screening of children in the pre-schools will help in early diagnosis of ADHD. Such children may need rescreening and evaluation in future to provide treatment in a comprehensive manner.