CHILD-BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST FINDINGS FURTHER SUPPORT COMORBIDITY BETWEENADHD AND MAJOR DEPRESSION IN A REFERRED SAMPLE

Objective: To examine the convergence of categorical and empirical dia gnostic systems to evaluate whether psychiatric comorbidity of juvenil e major depression with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD ) is due to assessment bias. Method: Using total predictive value and the odds ratio, the authors evaluated the convergence of Child Behavio r Checklist (CBCL) scales with structured interview-derived diagnoses in 94 children with major depression, 97 with ADHD, and 115 normal con trol children with neither diagnosis. Results: The CBCL Anxious/Depres sed scale discriminated depressed from nondepressed children irrespect ive of comorbidity with ADHD, and the Attention Problems scale discrim inated ADHD from non-ADHD children irrespective of comorbidity with ma jor depression. Children with major depression comorbid with ADHD had CBCL correlates of both syndromes. Conclusions: Since the CBCL is an e mpirically derived taxonomic system, the correspondence between the co ntent-congruent CBCL scales and DSM-III-R categorical diagnoses of maj or depression and of ADHD indicates that previously reported findings of high overlap between these two disorders using structured diagnosti c interview methodology and trained raters were not due to rater biase s.