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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Apr 10.
Published in final edited form as: J Abnorm Psychol. 2012 May 21;121(4):991–1010. doi: 10.1037/a0027347

Table 5.

Meta-analysis of studies that compared the DSM-IV ADHD subtypes on dimensional measures of comorbid psychopathology

Estimated effect size of the mean difference between groupsa
ADHD-C
vs. Control		 ADHD-I
vs. Control		 ADHD-H
vs. Control		 ADHD-C
vs. ADHD-I		 ADHD-C
vs. ADHD-H		 ADHD-I
vs. ADHD-H
Disorder kb gc [95% CI] kb gc [95% CI] kb gc [95% CI] kb gc [95% CI] kb gc [95% CI] kb gc [95% CI]
Internalizing Disorders
 Anxiety / GAD 9 1.38* 9 0.97* 4 1.20* 17 0.35* 6 0.56* 6 0.02
[0.74, 2.02] [0.57, 1.37] [0.46, 1.94] [0.18, 0.52] [0.34, 0.78] [−0.19, 0.23]
 Depression 8 1.50*d 8 1.14*d 4 0.64* 15 0.33* 6 0.53* 6 0.38*d
[0.08, 1.92] [0.75, 1.53] [0.30, 0.98] [0.17, 0.50] [0.31, 0.74] [0.17, 0.59]
 Anxious/Depressed 9 1.24*d 9 0.92*d 4 0.57* 15 0.16d,e 5 0.36* 5 0.10
[0.86, 1.63] [0.62, 1.23] [0.29, 0.84] [−0.03, 0.34] [0.17, 0.56] [−0.07, 0.27]
 Withdrawn 10 0.83*d 10 0.96*d 4 0.33* 16 −0.14* 5 0.42* 5 0.50*
[0.55, 1.11] [0.73, 1.18] [0.01, 0.66] [−0.28, 0.00] [0.17, 0.68] [0.18, 0.83]
Externalizing Disorders
 ODD Symptoms 18 2.26*d 18 1.01*d 8 1.99*d 26 1.00* 14 0.32* 13 −0.66*
[1.91, 2.60] [0.79, 1.23] [1.51, 2.48] [0.90, 1.10] [0.15, 0.49] [−0.82, −0.50]
 CD Symptoms 11 1.98*d 11 0.90*d 6 1.89*d 18 0.66* 9 0.22* 9 −0.31*
[1.47, 2.49] [0.59, 1.20] [1.24, 2.54] [0.53, 0.79] [0.04, 0.40] [−0.61, −0.01]
 Aggressive Behavior 12 1.89*d 12 0.72* 4 1.64*d 19 1.04*d 6 0.32 6 −0.71*c
[1.45, 2.34] [0.57, 0.88] [1.14, 2.13] [0.84, 1.24] [−0.09, 0.72] [−1.16, −0.26]
 Delinquent Behavior 8 1.92*d 8 0.80* 4 1.12* 14 0.77*d 5 0.44* 5 −0.23*
[1.46, 2.38] [0.68, 0.92] [0.81, 1.42] [0.57, 0.97] [0.23, 0.64] [−0.44, −0.03]
Other Disorders
 Perv. Dev. Disorders 3 1.64* 3 1.20*d 1 0.63* 5 0.69* 1 0.73* 1 0.22
[1.37, 1.90] [0.33, 2.08] [0.10, 1.16] [0.45, 0.93] [0.11, 1.34] [−0.35, 0.79]

Note. GAD = generalized anxiety disorder, ODD = oppositional defiant disorder, CD = conduct disorder.

a

Overall effect sizes are weighted estimates from a random-effects model (DerSimonian & Laird, 1986). Positive effect sizes indicate that the group listed first has more symptoms of the comorbid disorder than the group listed second, and negative effect sizes indicate that the group listed second has more symptoms. Supplement Table 10 provides the complete list of effect sizes and a summary of tests for publication bias and heterogeneity among the effects.

b

k = number of effect sizes included in the summary statistic.

c

g = Hedges’ g.

d

significant heterogeneity among the effects (see Supplement Table 10).

e

after correcting for heterogeneity, ADHD-C was significantly different from ADHD-I (g = 0.25).

*

= P < .05.