Abstract
Teacher ratings of inattentive, impulsive, hyperactive, aggressive and anxious behaviours were obtained for a non-clinic-referred sample of 926 9-year-old children from Dunedin, New Zealand. Factor analysis of the ratings identified four factors of Inattention, Antisocial Behaviour, Hyperactivity, and Worry-Fearful. Subscales based on these factors were only weakly related to parent ratings of the same behaviours. Canonical correlational analysis indicated that both cognitive (performance IQ, reading and spelling) and motor (speech articulation and tapping speed) abilities best predicted the parent and teacher ratings of inattention. Family background measures, on the other hand, were associated primarily with the antisocial, hyperactive and worry ratings. Overall, the results suggest that inattention represents the core dysfunction in hyperactivity. it is argued that inattention, hyperactvity and antisocial behaviours should be regarded as at least partially independent dimensions. It is a reprint of RO60.