The Conners Parent Rating Scale: Psychometric properties in typically developing 4-to 12-year-old Belgian French-speaking children

Introduction. - The Conners Parent Rating Scale-48 items (CPRS) is one of the most widely used behavioral scales in clinical and research settings with children. Objective. - The principal aim of this study was to validate the five-factor structure of the French version of the CPRS in 4- to 12-year-old Belgian French-speaking children. Secondly, a sample of children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was assessed and their ADHD CPRS profile was examined. Methods. - A total of 382 typically developing children from 4 to 12 years old were included in this study. Furthermore, 15 children (aged 6 to 12 years old) diagnosed with ADHD participated in this study. Results. - Confirmatory factor analysis shows that the CPRS presents good psychometric properties and has a factor structure similar to the original version. Furthermore, the CPRS shows high rates of sensitivity and specificity when the ADHD and control group scores are compared. Conclusions. - This study confirms the original five-factor structure of the CPRS when used with French-speaking children. Our results highlight the fact that the CPRS is a reliable measure of parental perception of their children's disruptive behaviors, and encourage the use of culturally adapted normative data for 4- to 12-year-old children. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.