The Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham scale version IV (SNAP-IV) is widely used to assess symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children and adolescents. Nevertheless, there is insufficient data to support its use in preschool children. The study had three goals: First, to test the factorial validity of the three correlated-factors model of ADHD and ODD items of the SNAP-IV. Second, to investigate the measurement invariance of the items over time (6-month longitudinal interval) and by sex. Third, to investigate the convergent validity and method-specific influences on ADHD/ODD assessments with respect to multiple raters (parents/teachers) of children’s symptoms. Participants were 618 preschool children (3.5–6 years) at baseline and 6-month follow-up. For model testing, we used confirmatory factor analysis for categorical observed variables. Method and trait effects were examined using the CT-C(M-1) model. The analyses showed partial measurement invariance over time and according to sex. Moreover, strong rater-specific effects were detected. The implication of the results for construct validation of the instrument and clinical assessment of ADHD and ODD traits are discussed.

Swanson、Nolan 和 Pelham 量表第四版 (SNAP-IV) 广泛用于评估儿童和青少年的注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 和对立违抗障碍 (ODD) 的症状。然而，没有足够的数据支持其在学龄前儿童中的使用。该研究有三个目标：首先，测试SNAP-IV的ADHD和ODD项目的三个相关因素模型的因子有效性。其次，调查项目随时间（6 个月纵向间隔）和性别的测量不变性。第三，调查儿童症状的多个评估者（父母/教师）对 ADHD/ODD 评估的收敛效度和特定方法的影响。在基线和 6 个月的随访中，参与者是 618 名学龄前儿童（3.5-6 岁）。对于模型测试，我们对分类观察变量使用验证性因子分析。使用 CT-C(M-1) 模型检查方法和性状效应。分析显示随着时间和性别的部分测量不变性。此外，还检测到了强烈的评估者特异性效应。讨论了结果对仪器的构造验证和 ADHD 和 ODD 特征的临床评估的影响。