Early Screening of ADHD Symptoms in a Multilingual Context: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Brief Caregiver-and Teacher-Rated Tool.

Abstract

BackgroundEarly identification of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young children is essential, yet few brief screening tools for caregivers and teachers working in multilingual contexts are available.MethodsA preliminary study involved 20 children between the ages of 3 and 6 whose caregivers and teachers completed a newly developed ADHD screening tool in the multilingual context of South Tyrol,Italy. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the tool regarding its item level distributions, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent and criterion validity.ResultsInternal consistency estimates were encouraging (α/ω = .82-.91), although their precision was limited by the small sample size. Test-retest coefficients suggested moderate-to-good temporal stability (ICC = .76-.79), but these findings should be considered preliminary. The observed pattern was consistent with a two-factor structure (A1/A2), pending confirmation in a larger sample. Correlations with the CBCL and C-TRF Attention Problems scales provided preliminary evidence of moderate-to-strong convergent validity. Children in the ADHD-like group obtained higher scores than controls, with large observed effect sizes; however, these estimates may be unstable given the limited sample. No clear descriptive differences emerged between the Italian and German versions, although the study was not sufficiently powered to establish their equivalence.ConclusionsPreliminary findings indicate that the screening tool is promising for early ADHD screening in a multilingual context. Full psychometric validation will be conducted in a subsequent research project, designed to ensure methodological robustness and clinical-educational transferability.