The SWAN Captures Variance at the Negative and Positive Ends of the ADHD Symptom Dimension

Overview

Journal J Atten Disord

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2011 Dec 17

PMID 22173148

Citations 52

Authors

Anne B Arnett

Bruce F Pennington

Angela Friend

Erik G Willcutt

Brian Byrne

Stefan Samuelsson

Richard K Olson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behavior (SWAN) Rating Scale differs from previous parent reports of ADHD in that it was designed to also measure variability at the positive end of the symptom spectrum.

Method: The psychometric properties of the SWAN were tested and compared with an established measure of ADHD, the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale (DBRS).

Results: The SWAN demonstrates comparable validity, reliability, and heritability to the DBRS. Furthermore, plots of the SWAN and DBRS reveal heteroscedasticity, which supports the SWAN as a preferred measure of positive attention and impulse regulation behaviors.

Conclusion: The ability of the SWAN to measure additional variance at the adaptive end of the ADHD symptom dimensions makes it a promising tool for behavioral genetic studies of ADHD.

Citing Articles

The distribution of parent-reported autistic and subclinical ADHD traits in children with and without an autism diagnosis.

Chau T, Tiego J, Brown L, Mellahn O, Johnson B, Bellgrove M JCPP Adv. 2025; 5(1):e12259.

PMID: 40060000 PMC: 11889647. DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12259.

Anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: behavioural phenotypes and environmental factors.

Leachman C, Nichols E, Al-Saoud S, Duerden E BMC Psychol. 2024; 12(1):534.

PMID: 39369261 PMC: 11452981. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-02044-6.

Psychometric properties of the self-report version of the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behavior Scale in a sample of Hungarian adolescents and young adults.

Vajsz K, Paulina L, Trejo S, Andaverde-Vega A, Swanson J, Miklosi M Front Psychiatry. 2024; 15:1330716.

PMID: 39026526 PMC: 11255780. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1330716.

Associations of Symptoms of ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in Adolescence With Occupational Outcomes and Incomes in Adulthood.

Seppa S, Huikari S, Korhonen M, Nordstrom T, Hurtig T, Halt A J Atten Disord. 2024; 28(10):1392-1405.

PMID: 38867516 PMC: 11292981. DOI: 10.1177/10870547241259329.

Validation of the Self-Report Version of the German Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behavior Scale (SWAN-DE-SB).

Blume F, Buhr L, Kuhnhausen J, Kopke R, Weber L, Fallgatter A Assessment. 2024; 32(1):130-146.

PMID: 38523357 PMC: 11571603. DOI: 10.1177/10731911241236699.

References

McGrath L, Pennington B, Shanahan M, Santerre-Lemmon L, Barnard H, Willcutt E . A multiple deficit model of reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: searching for shared cognitive deficits. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010; 52(5):547-57. PMC: 3079018. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02346.x. View

Nigg J, Willcutt E, Doyle A, Sonuga-Barke E . Causal heterogeneity in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: do we need neuropsychologically impaired subtypes?. Biol Psychiatry. 2005; 57(11):1224-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.08.025. View

Hay D, Bennett K, Levy F, Sergeant J, Swanson J . A twin study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder dimensions rated by the strengths and weaknesses of ADHD-symptoms and normal-behavior (SWAN) scale. Biol Psychiatry. 2006; 61(5):700-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.04.040. View

Nichols R, BILBRO Jr W . The diagnosis of twin zygosity. Acta Genet Stat Med. 1966; 16(3):265-75. DOI: 10.1159/000151973. View

Cornish K, Wilding J, Hollis C . Visual search performance in children rated as good or poor attenders: the differential impact of DAT1 genotype, IQ, and chronological age. Neuropsychology. 2008; 22(2):217-25. DOI: 10.1037/0894-4105.22.2.217. View

. Mental health in the United States. Prevalence of diagnosis and medication treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder--United States, 2003. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2005; 54(34):842-7. View

Bussing R, Fernandez M, Harwood M, Hou W, Garvan C, Eyberg S . Parent and teacher SNAP-IV ratings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: psychometric properties and normative ratings from a school district sample. Assessment. 2008; 15(3):317-28. PMC: 3623293. DOI: 10.1177/1073191107313888. View

Young D, Levy F, Martin N, Hay D . Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a Rasch analysis of the SWAN Rating Scale. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2009; 40(4):543-59. DOI: 10.1007/s10578-009-0143-z. View

Friedman-Weieneth J, Doctoroff G, Harvey E, Goldstein L . The Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale-Parent Version (DBRS-PV): Factor analytic structure and validity among young preschool children. J Atten Disord. 2008; 13(1):42-55. DOI: 10.1177/1087054708322991. View

10.

Pelham Jr W, Gnagy E, Greenslade K, Milich R . Teacher ratings of DSM-III-R symptoms for the disruptive behavior disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1992; 31(2):210-8. DOI: 10.1097/00004583-199203000-00006. View

11.

Stevenson J, Asherson P, Hay D, Levy F, Swanson J, Thapar A . Characterizing the ADHD phenotype for genetic studies. Dev Sci. 2005; 8(2):115-21. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00398.x. View

12.

Polderman T, Derks E, Hudziak J, Verhulst F, Posthuma D, Boomsma D . Across the continuum of attention skills: a twin study of the SWAN ADHD rating scale. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2007; 48(11):1080-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01783.x. View

13.

Swanson J, Schuck S, Porter M, Carlson C, Hartman C, Sergeant J . Categorical and Dimensional Definitions and Evaluations of Symptoms of ADHD: History of the SNAP and the SWAN Rating Scales. Int J Educ Psychol Assess. 2015; 10(1):51-70. PMC: 4618695. View

14.

Faraone S, Spencer T, Aleardi M, Pagano C, Biederman J . Meta-analysis of the efficacy of methylphenidate for treating adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2004; 24(1):24-9. DOI: 10.1097/01.jcp.0000108984.11879.95. View

15.

Parsons T, Bowerly T, Buckwalter J, Rizzo A . A controlled clinical comparison of attention performance in children with ADHD in a virtual reality classroom compared to standard neuropsychological methods. Child Neuropsychol. 2007; 13(4):363-81. DOI: 10.1080/13825580600943473. View