Using Network Analysis of Adolescent Self-Ratings of ADHD Symptoms to Identify Central Symptoms and Their Associations With Each Other and Global Functioning

This research examined the network properties (network graph, centrality, and edge weights) of the 18 ADHD symptoms, based on the self-ratings of 300 adolescents. The findings indicated the three symptoms with the highest centrality values were "inattention", "wait", and "interrupt". For edge weights, there were positive large effect size associations for "lose" with "forgetful", "fidget with "run", "blurt" with "wait", and "wait" with "interrupt"; and positive moderate effect size associations for "careless" with "instruction", and "avoid" with "listen". Five IA symptoms ("careless", "instruction", "avoid", "distracted", and "forgetful") and one HI symptom ("quiet") were associated negatively and significantly with global functioning. Overall, these associations and relations should be prioritized when planning treatment for ADHD. This is the first study to examine the network properties of ADHD symptoms for adolescent self-ratings. The implications of the findings for theory include a better understanding of the relationships and interrelations between ADHD symptoms, especially in terms of the clustering of IA and HI symptoms and their associations with global functioning. In practice, the findings indicate there are different symptoms that could be the focus for assessment and treatment according to the ADHD presentation type.