Testing measurement invariance across groups of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder : applications for word recognition and spelling tasks

• Autor(a) principal: Lucio, Patricia Silva
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Salum Junior, Giovanni Abrahão, Swardfager, Walter, Mari, Jair de Jesus, Pan, Pedro Mario, Bressan, Rodrigo Affonseca, Gadelha, Ary, Rohde, Luis Augusto Paim, Moreira, Hugo Cogo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRGS
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10183/181632
• topic: Transtorno do déficit de atenção com hiperatividade; Criança; Measurement invariance; Differential item functioning; Word recognition; Spelling; ADHD; Group comparison

Although studies have consistently demonstrated that children with attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) perform significantly lower than controls on word recognition and spelling tests, such studies rely on the assumption that those groups are comparable in these measures. This study investigates comparability of word recognition and spelling tests based on diagnostic status for ADHD through measurement invariance methods. The participants (n D 1,935; 47% female; 11% ADHD) were children aged 6–15 with normal IQ ( 70). Measurement invariance was investigated through Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes models. Measurement invariance was attested in both methods, demonstrating the direct comparability of the groups. Children with ADHD were 0.51 SD lower in word recognition and 0.33 SD lower in spelling tests than controls. Results suggest that differences in performance on word recognition and spelling tests are related to true mean differences based on ADHD diagnostic status. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.