Comparison of hyperactive and emotionally-behaviorally disturbed children on the Devereux Child Behavior Rating Scale: a potential aid in diagnosis.

Comparison was made between Devereux Child Behavior Rating Scale (DCB) ratings of matched groups of hyperactive and emotionally-behaviorally disturbed children. The emotionally behaviorally disturbed group was chosen to represent a population with presenting symptoms similar to hyperactivity. Ratings of the two groups exceeded the normative population on all DCB factors. The hyperactive group received higher scores on 16 factors and was significantly higher than the emotionally-behaviorally disturbed group on 8 factors. The hyperactive group received the most extreme scores on behavioral dimensions generally described as characteristic of the hyperactive syndrome. The results suggested that the DCB can assist in differentiating hyperactive children from children with presenting symptoms similar to those of hyperactivity.