Validity of the SNAP-IV For ADHD Assessment in South African Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Michal R Zieff; Michelle Hoogenhout; Emma Eastman; Björn U Christ; Alice Galvin; Victoria de Menil; Amina Abubakar; Charles R Newton; Elise Robinson; Kirsten A Donald

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05530-1

Validity of the SNAP-IV For ADHD Assessment in South African Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders

J Autism Dev Disord. 2023 Jul;53(7):2851-2862. doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05530-1. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Authors

Michal R Zieff¹, Michelle Hoogenhout², Emma Eastman², Björn U Christ², Alice Galvin^{3

4}, Victoria de Menil^{3

5}, Amina Abubakar^{6

5

7}, Charles R Newton^{6

5

7}, Elise Robinson^{3

4}, Kirsten A Donald²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Klipfontein Road, 7700, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa. Michal.zieff@uct.ac.za.
² Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Klipfontein Road, 7700, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
³ Stanley Centre for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 75 Ames Street, 02142, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, 02115, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, OX3 7JX, Oxford, UK.
⁶ Neurosciences Unit, Clinical Department, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, PO Box 230-80108, Kilifi, Kenya.
⁷ Institute for Human Development, Aga Khan University, P.O. Box 30270-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham ADHD Rating Scale (SNAP-IV) in a sample of South African children with neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 201), primarily Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to inspect the two-factor structure of the SNAP-IV. We also calculated ordinal coefficient alpha to estimate internal consistency. Fit statistics for the two-factor model approached acceptable levels. The model fit improved slightly after removing an item related to spoken language. The subscales had acceptable internal consistencies. Findings partially support the use of the SNAP-IV in this group of children. However, there are limitations to its performance in this population likely related to the presence of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Keywords: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder; Behavior rating scale; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Psychometric; SNAP-IV.

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / diagnosis
Autism Spectrum Disorder* / diagnosis
Child
Humans
Intellectual Disability*
Psychometrics
South Africa

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding