The Behavior Assessment System for Children Third Edition (BASC-3)’s Classification Accuracy for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in College Students

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that frequently persists symptoms into adolescence and adulthood. Diagnosing ADHD in college-aged individuals poses a challenge due to the lack of consistent strategies among clinicians for effectively evaluating adult ADHD. The purpose of this study was to determine the classification accuracy of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (Third Ed.; BASC-3) Inattention/Hyperactivity composite t-score in predicting the diagnosis of ADHD among college students. Results indicated that the BASC-3 Inattention/Hyperactivity composite demonstrated predictive power, high specificity (94%) and moderate-to-high sensitivity (70%), supporting its utility as a predictor of ADHD. Further analysis was conducted to determine the characteristics of misclassified (i.e., false positive [FP] or false negative [FN]) individuals to determine other effective predictors of the final diagnosis. Further analysis examined characteristics of misclassified individuals (false positives [FP] and false negatives [FN]). False positives were almost exclusively female students with At-Risk scores on Internalizing Problems, Locus of Control, Anxiety, Depression, and Sense of Inadequacy scales. False negatives were more likely to have another diagnosis and showed clinically significant Sense of Inadequacy scores, without other elevations.