Measurements of attention deficits and impulsivity: a Swedish study of theGordon Diagnostic System

The Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) is a portable easily operated computeriz ed tool developed to measure impulse control, attention and vigilance. In 1 988. it was standardized for use among American children. The aim of this s tudy was to evaluate the GDS for use among Swedish children. A clinical sam ple of 71 Swedish children, mean age 10.5 y, fulfilling the ADHD criteria a ccording to the DSM-IV was compared with a control sample of 88 children, m ean age 10.2 y, with no known psychiatric diagnosis. The clinical sample sh owed lower GDS scores in all age groups, with some exceptions. The GDS scor es were not associated with gender, but strongly associated with age, espec ially in the control sample. The accuracy of the GDS referring a specific c hild to either of the samples was, as expected, not impressive. With respec t to the practical usefulness, the GDS was well accepted by the children an d parents in both samples. The findings in age variation and when comparing children with ADHD and controls are in agreement with results from other s tudies.