Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:00:45.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Diagnosis and Prevalence of Hyperactivity in Chinese Schoolboys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Patrick W. L. Leung ,
S. L. Luk ,
T. P. Ho ,
Eric Taylor ,
Felice Lieh Mak  and
John Bacon-Shone
Patrick W. L. Leung*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
S. L. Luk
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Travancare Centre, 50 Flemington Street, Flemington, Victoria 3031, Australia
T. P. Ho
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
Eric Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, DeCrespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
Felice Lieh Mak
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong
John Bacon-Shone
Affiliation:
Social Sciences Research Centre, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
*
Dr Patrick W. L. Leung, Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

This study was undertaken to examine the validity of different diagnostic definitions of hyperactivity in a Chinese population. Estimates of the prevalence of hyperactivity were made according to these different diagnostic definitions.

Method

In a two-stage epidemiological study of hyperactivity in Hong Kong, 3069 Chinese schoolboys were screened by questionnaires; and a stratified sample of 611 of them entered a second stage for more detailed diagnostic assessment.

Results

Children with hyperkinetic disorder (ICD–10) or ADDH (DSM–III) both displayed significant hyperactive symptoms, but with somewhat different external correlates; hyperkinetic disorder tended to show more neurodevelopmental impairments, ADDH more cognitive and educational difficulties. These findings raise the possibility of heterogeneity in the disorders present with hyperactivity. The DSM–III–R category of ADHD was more common, and those extra cases, that did not overlap with ADDH or hyperkinetic disorder, included children with no obvious behavioural, cognitive or neurodevelopmental impairments. Hence ADHD may be an over-inclusive category. Prevalence rates for hyperkinetic disorder, ADDH and ADHD were respectively 0.78%, 6.1% and 8.9%.

Conclusions

A disorder of hyperactivity does exist in the Chinese culture, displaying the same kinds of symptomatology and external correlates as in the West. The prevalence rates of hyperkinetic disorder and ADDH in Chinese schoolboys are on the low side when compared to those reported in Western studies.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 168 , Issue 4 , April 1996 , pp. 486 - 496
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1996 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM–III). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM–III–R) Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM–IV). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. C., Williams, S., McGee, R., et al (1987) DSM–III disorders in preadolescent children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 28, 842–846.Google Scholar
August, G. J. & Garfinkel, B. D. (1989) Behavioural and cognitive subtypes of ADHD. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 739–748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cairns, E. & Cammock, T. (1978) Development of a more reliable version of the matching familiar figures test. Developmental Psychology, 14, 555–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L. & Cornblatt, B. (1978) Attentional measures in a study of children at high-risk for schizophrenia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 14, 93–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freedman, D. G. & Freedman, N. C. (1969) Behavioural differences between Chinese-American and European-American newborns. Nature, 224, 1227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gillberg, C., Carlstrom, G. & Rasmussen, P. (1983) Hyperkinetic disorders in children with perceptual, motor and attentional deficits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24, 233–246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gubbay, S. S. (1975) The Clumsy Child: A Study of Developmental Apraxia and Agnosic Ataxia. London: W. B. Saunders.Google Scholar
Ho, T. P., Luk, E. S. L., Leung, P. W. L., et al (1996) Situational versus pervasive hyperactivity in community sample. Psychological Medicine, in press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ho, Y. F. (1981) Childhood psychopathology: a dialogue with special reference to Chinese and American cultures. In Normal and Abnormal Behaviour in Chinese Culture (eds Kleinman, A. & Lin, T. Y.), pp. 137–156. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahey, B. B., Applegate, B., McBurnett, K., et al (1994) DSM–IV field trials for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1673–1685.Google ScholarPubMed
Luk, S. L., Leung, P. W. L. & Lee, P. L. M. (1988) Conners' teacher rating scale in Chinese children in Hong Kong. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 165–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meehl, P. E. (1990) Appraising and amending theories: the strategy of Lakatosian defense and two principles that warrant it. Psychological Inquiry, 1, 108–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newcorn, J. H., Halperin, J. M., Schwart, S., et al (1994) Parent and teacher ratings of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: implications for case identification. Journal of Developmental Behavioural Pediatrics, 15, 86–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rapoport, J. L., Donnelly, M., Zamethkin, A., et al (1986) ‘Situational hyperactivity’ in a US clinical setting. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 639–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, D. M. & Ross, S. A. (1976) Hyperactivity. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Sandberg, S. T., Rutter, M. & Taylor, E. (1978) Hyperkinetic disorder in psychiatric clinic attenders. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 20, 279–299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schachar, R., Rutter, M. & Smith, A. (1981) The characteristics of situationally and pervasively hyperactive children: implications of syndrome definition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22, 375–392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shekim, W. O., Kashani, J., Beck, N., et al (1985) The prevalence of attention deficit disorders in a rural midwestern community sample of nine-year-old children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 765–770.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, Y. C., Wang, Y. F. & Yan, X. L. (1985) An epidemiological investigation of minimal brain dysfunction in six elementary schools in Beijing. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 777–788.Google ScholarPubMed
Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., Lamparelli, M., Stevenson, J., et al (1994) Behaviour problems and pre-school intellectual attainment: The associations of hyperactivity and conduct problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 949–960.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szatmari, P., Offord, D. R. & Boyle, M. H. (1989) Ontario child health study: prevalence of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 219–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, E. (1994) Syndromes of attention deficit and overactivity. In Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (3rd edn) (eds Rutter, M., Eric, E. & Hersov, L.), pp. 285–307. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Taylor, E. & Sandberg, S. (1984) Hyperactive behavior in English schoolchildren: A questionnaire survey. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 143–156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, E., Schachar, R., Thorley, G., et al (1986) Conduct disorder and hyperactivity: I. Separation of hyperactivity and antisocial conduct in British child psychiatric patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 760–767.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, E., Sandberg, S., Thorley, G., et al (1991) The Epidemiology of Childhood Hyperactivity. Institute of Psychiatry Maudsley Monographs (33). London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Weisz, J. R., Suwanlert, S., Chaiyasit, W., et al (1987) Over and under controlled referral problems among children and adolescents from Thailand and the United States: the Wat and Wai of cultural differences. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 719–726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weisz, J. R., Suwanlert, S., Chaiyasit, W., et al (1989) Epidemiology of behavioural and emotional problems among Thai and American children: parents reports for ages 6–11. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 890–897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, C. K. (1988) The Rutter parent scale A2 and teacher scale B2 in Chinese: II. Clinical validity among Chinese children. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 78, 11–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, C. K. & Lau, J. T. F. (1992) Psychiatric morbidity in a Chinese primary school in Hong Kong. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 26, 459–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (1992) The ICD–10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Yule, W. & Taylor, E. (1987) Classification. In Soft Neurological Signs (ed. Tupper, D. E.). Orlando: Grune & Stratton.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.