Asperger Help

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
August, 1998 by C. Keith Conners, Gill Sitarenios, James D.A. Parker, Jeffery N. Epstein

The initial Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) was developed as a comprehensive checklist for acquiring parental reports of the basic presenting problems for children referred to an outpatient psychiatric setting (Conners, 1970). This scale was used to form the basis for a detailed parental interview about the child's problems. In its original form, the CPRS contained items grouped in terms of problems with sleep, problems eating, problems with temper, problems with keeping friends, problems in school, etc. Later, an "additional" problems category was added that included items covering the cardinal symptoms of Since its introduction (Conners, 1970), the psychometric properties of the CPRS have been well studied. The original scoring procedure required grouping of items according to rationally derived problem groups. Though this scoring procedure was face valid, it was not until a series of factor-analytic studies of the CPRS were conducted (Blouin, Conners, Seidel, & Blouin, 1989; Conners, 1970, 1973) that an empirical scoring methodology was employed. These factor analyses of the CPRS (Blouin et al., 1989; Conners, 1970) utilized 316 clinic patients and 367 normal controls whose parents were recruited from Baltimore-area public schools. Using the 93 CPRS items as the unit of analysis, eight factors were identified: Conduct Disorder, Anxious-Shy, Restless-Disorganized, Learning Problems, Psychosomatic, Obsessive-Compulsive, Antisocial, and Hyperactive-Immature. The factor structure and norms from this sample have been used for scoring the 93-item CPRS (Conners, 1989).attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention.