Inferring candidate genes for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessed by the World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS)

Summary. The present study tests the psychometric properties and validity of the German version of the World Health Organization Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Self-Report Scale (ASRS), which is a short screening instrument for use in the general population. Furthermore, two candidate genes for ADHD, the COMT VAL158MET and the 5-HT2a T102C polymorphisms, were tested for associations with the ASRS subscales inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity in N = 203 healthy subjects. The ordinal CFA yielded a two-factorial model corroborating the structure of the official English WHO version. Genetic analysis revealed an association between the VAL allele of COMT and the inattention scale (F_(1, 201) = 7.20, p = 0.008), the hyperactivity/impulsivity scale (F_1, 201 = 4.30, p = 0.039), and the total ASRS scale (F_(2, 201) = 7.64, p = 0.006) with highest scores in carriers of the MET/MET genotype. The C-allele of 5-HT2a was significantly associated with the hyperactivity/impulsivity scale (F_(1, 201) = 5.52, p = 0.020) and the total ASRS scale (F_(1, 201) = 4.21, p = 0.042) with highest scores in carriers of the TT genotype. The data provide evidence for the structural as well as for the external validity of the ASRS.