Further validation of the Parent-Reported ADHD Symptom Infrequency Scale (PRASIS) in parents of children with oppositional defiant disorder and anxiety

This study aimed to validate a novel parent-report measure of ADHD symptom inflation, the Parent-Reported ADHD Symptom Infrequency Scale (PRASIS), in a clinical sample. The PRASIS is composed of an Infrequency subscale and an ADHD subscale. Online participants were assigned to one of three groups: mothers of children with diagnosed ADHD (n = 110), mothers of children with diagnosed ODD and/or anxiety (n = 116), and mothers of children without ADHD, ODD, or anxiety. The third group was then randomized to either receive instructions to complete the questionnaire honestly (controls, n = 164) or to complete the questionnaire as if they were trying to convince a provider that their child has ADHD (simulators, n = 141). Results indicated good to excellent internal consistency (INF α = .83, ADHD Total α = .93); strong convergent validity of the PRASIS ADHD scale with the ADHD Rating Scale-5 (r(529) = .85, p < .001); excellent group discrimination of the PRASIS Infrequency scale and the PRASIS ADHD scale (η2 = 0.38–0.42); and specificity of 86.7, sensitivity of 67.4%, and an AUC of .86 for the Infrequency scale. Overall, these outcomes supported the utility of the PRASIS in samples including mothers of children with psychiatric diagnoses of ODD and/or anxiety.