ASSOCIATED PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN CHILDREN WITH BOTH ADHD AND CHRONIC TICDISORDER

Objective: To examine the relation between severity of tic disorder an d comorbid psychopathology in 47 prepubertal children with tic disorde r who were referred for clinical evaluation of and treatment for atten tion-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional behaviors, an d aggressive behaviors. Method: Parents and teachers completed the Chi ld Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF) for each child. Results: Seventy-five percent of the sample was in the clinical range in at least two categories of psychopathology. When the childre n were divided into two groups on the basis of tic severity, significa ntly higher scores were obtained for children with more severe tics on the narrow-band Depressed, Uncommunicative, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Aggressive scales, and the broad-band internalizing scale oi the CBCL . The severity groups did not differ on TRF scores. Children who were more aggressive also received higher CBCL scores. Conclusions: The fin dings from this study suggest that the severity of chronic ties is a c linical indicator of complex psychopathology in children with ADHD who are referred for psychiatric evaluation.