• Length
• Language
• Rater

Length

The Conners 4 has three forms available: the full-length Conners 4 (Conners 4), Conners 4–Short, and Conners 4–ADHD Index. Each form is available for parents, teachers, and youth self-report.

Ideally, multiple raters (parents, teachers, and youth) should complete the same type of Conners 4 form (full-length, Conners 4–Short, or Conners 4–ADHD Index) so that results can be easily integrated across raters. The assessor can obtain meaningful results when different form lengths are used; however, this mix of test lengths limits possible comparisons.

Deciding which form to administer will largely depend on the assessor’s needs (e.g., initial assessment vs. treatment monitoring) and the rater’s availability (e.g., how much time the rater has to complete the form). Regardless of which form is selected, the assessor can be confident about the statistical and clinical properties of the form (see chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, which are Reliability, Validity, Fairness, Conners 4–Short, and Conners 4–ADHD Index, respectively).

Conners 4 (Full-Length)

The full-length Conners 4 form includes all Conners 4 items and scales. This form is the most comprehensive and is recommended for use in initial evaluations and full re-evaluations. Because of its rich and comprehensive content, it is also the most appropriate form to use to inform and build treatment and intervention plans for both baseline measurements and to measure improvement.

Conners 4–Short

The Conners 4–Short contains all the items of the Negative Impression Index, a subset of scales from the full-length form (including a subset of items from four of the Conners 4 Content Scales [i.e., Inattention/Executive Dysfunctions, Hyperactivity, Impulsivity, and Emotional Dysregulation scales]), the Impairment & Functional Outcome Scales (i.e., Schoolwork, Peer Interactions, and Family Life [on Parent and Self-Report only] scales), and the ADHD Index. The three additional open-ended questions are also included (see appendix C, Items by Scale, for item content comparison between full-length and short forms). The Conners 4–Short form takes less time to complete than the full-length form but is not as comprehensive because it has fewer scales and fewer items per scale (for both Content and Impairment & Functional Outcome scales). This form is useful when a rater has limited time, or when the rater will be asked to complete the Conners 4 repeatedly (e.g., monthly assessment of treatment response).

Conners 4–ADHD Index

The Conners 4–ADHD Index contains 12 items from the full-length form that best differentiate youth diagnosed with ADHD from youth in the general population. The Conners 4–ADHD Index is included as part of the full-length and short forms and is also available as a stand-alone form. This index can be used as a screener to determine which youth are most likely to require a more comprehensive evaluation. Like the short form, the index form can also be useful for repeated administrations (e.g., progress monitoring).

Language

In addition to English, the Conners 4 forms are available in U.S. Spanish and French-Canadian. These versions are linguistically and culturally sensitive adaptations of the English forms (see chapter 6, Development, for information on the development of these translations). Additional translations will be available throughout the product lifecyle. For more information on which translations are available, please visit https://mhs.com/permissions-translations-and-licensing/. To ensure that the rater is able to understand what they are being asked and can respond accordingly, the examiner should select the language that is most suitable for the rater’s language proficiency. The examiner can select the language as they set up the test on the MHS Online Assessment Center+.

Rater

The Conners 4 can be completed by parents/guardians, teachers, and youth. If the rater is unable to complete the form independently for any reason (e.g., limited vision, difficulties with reading comprehension), a modified administration protocol may be used (see Verbal Administration of the Conners 4 in this chapter).

Conners 4 Parent. The Parent form can be completed by any parent (biological or nonbiological) or guardian of the youth who can report on the youth’s behavior and overall functioning. If both parents or guardians are asked to report on the youth, each should complete their own Conners 4 Parent form and provide independent ratings of the youth.

Conners 4 Teacher. The Teacher form can be completed by any teacher (including those who teach standard academic and elective courses and those who teach special education, general education, and enrichment/gifted programs) who has taught the student for at least the month prior to test administration (see Time Frame in this chapter for more information). Because the Teacher form is meant to provide ratings on the student’s current social, emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning in a school setting, only individuals who have observed the student in such settings and have done so for at least one month should complete the Teacher form. Selecting the appropriate individual to complete the Teacher form depends on when the Conners 4 is administered:

• An instructor who taught the student in the previous year may not be suitable to report on the student’s current behavior unless they are still the student’s instructor.
• If the student is on summer break, it is appropriate to ask the teacher who most recently taught the student to rate them. Be sure to note on the report that a retrospective recall of the student was done by the teacher and note the last time the student was in the classroom with the teacher.
• Summer-school teachers, like all teachers, would need to have known the student for at least one month before being able to complete the Teacher form.
• In the case of a remote or virtual teaching arrangement, the teacher may need to know the student for 6–8 weeks before they are able to reliably rate the student, given that remote teaching does not offer the same level of opportunity to observe the student as does in-person teaching. Remote teachers may also have to omit certain items if they are unable to directly observe the behaviors. This may result in unscored scale(s) or prorated scores, but it is still informative to obtain item level information from the teacher. In such cases, it will be very important to supplement teacher ratings with other sources of information.

It is recommended that teacher ratings of the student be solicited from more than one teacher to evaluate the degree of consistency of behavior in different classroom settings.

Conners 4 Self-Report. Self-reports provide information about a youth’s own perceptions and feelings about their behavior that parents and teachers may or may not be aware of. This is especially relevant with respect to highly sensitive information, such as self-harm thoughts and/or behaviors. Only the youth being evaluated can complete the Self-Report form.

Multiple Raters. Collecting ratings from multiple observers and from the self-report is recommended as it provides a broad understanding of the youth’s behavior and functioning across various settings. Information obtained from different raters aids in diagnosis and eligibility considerations and can be used to develop a thorough and tailored treatment or intervention plan.