Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1): Symptom Checklist

Eighteen questions describe how attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) looks in adult life. Nine concern inattention: trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, difficulty getting things in order, problems remembering appointments, putting off tasks that require a lot of thought, and losing things. Nine concern hyperactivity and impulsivity: fidgeting, feeling overly active and compelled to do things as if driven by a motor, talking too much, finishing other people's sentences and having difficulty waiting one's turn. Each is rated by how often it has occurred over the past six months.

Kessler and colleagues (2005) developed the scale with the World Health Organization (WHO) to screen for adult ADHD in community surveys and clinical practice. The symptom list follows the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), but the wording was adapted to the circumstances of adults, whose difficulties tend to show up in work, organization and relationships rather than in classrooms.

The report shows how many symptoms in each group occur often and how frequently, and gives particular weight to the six questions that best distinguish adults with ADHD from those without. Higher frequencies describe more persistent difficulty with attention, organization or restlessness. A positive screen suggests that a full evaluation, including a history of childhood symptoms, may be useful; it is not a diagnosis.

The scale is used in primary care, psychiatry and occupational health, and in research on adult ADHD. On this site, the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS-25) asks retrospectively about childhood symptoms, which a diagnosis of adult ADHD requires; the Cognitive Failures scale describes everyday lapses of attention and memory; and the SNAP-IV is completed by a parent or teacher for children.

The dichotomous Part A screen outperformed the full 18-item scale, with sensitivity about 68.7%, specificity about 99.5%, and total classification accuracy of 97.9% against clinician diagnosis (Kessler et al., 2005).

“How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?”

Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.

Item responses are summed to a total score and compared against published screening cutoffs.

The report explains which published screening bands your score falls in and what they mean.