Linking Informant Discrepancies to Observed Variations in Children’s Disruptive Behavior

Abstract

Informant discrepancies in the ratings of children’s behavior are a persistent challenge in mental health research and clinical practice, especially in treatment decisions for children with disruptive behavior. These discrepancies are often dismissed as measurement error, but they seem to reflect genuine contextual variations in children's behavior. To explore this further, the study aimed to objectively examine whether school-aged children with ADHD show contextual patterns of disruptive behavior and if these patterns relate to informant discrepancies. (N = 212). Latent class analyses (LCA) were conducted to identify distinct behavioral profiles that were based on observations from the age-adapted Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule in both parent and examiner contexts. Afterwards, a repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare these behavioral profiles to parent and teacher ratings of symptom severity on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Latent Class Analysis identified six distinct behavioral profiles that varied either qualitatively, indicating contextual sensitivity, or quantitatively, reflecting cross-context high or low severity. However, only limited differences were found between parent and teacher agreement across the profiles. These findings suggest that, although some children with ADHD display contextual variations in disruptive behavior, this variation does not appear to be the primary explanation for informant discrepancies. This underscores the need for the combined use of structured observations and informant ratings in clinical practice, to capture both the severity and the contextual expression of disruptive behavior in children.