Swanson, Nolan and Pelham Teacher and Parent Rating Scale

The Swanson, Nolan and Pelham Teacher and Parent Rating Scale (SNAP), developed by James Swanson, Edith Nolan and William Pelham, is a 90-question self-report inventory designed to measure Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) symptoms in children and young adults.^[1]

Each question measures the frequency of a variety of symptoms or behaviors, in which the respondent indicates whether the behavior occurs "not at all," "just a little," "quite a bit," or "very much." The questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete and is designed for use with children and young adults ages 6–18.^[2] The questionnaire is currently in its 4th version, and its scores have shown good reliability and validity across multiple different study samples.^[3]

Question breakdown, scoring and interpretation

Scoring the SNAP-IV is based on a 0-3 scale, with each question being scored as follows based on participant response:

• 0 points: "not at all"
• 1 point: "just a little"
• 2 points: "quite a bit"
• 3 points: "very much"

Domain breakdown

The questions measure different domains of ADHD and ODD. The breakdown is as follows:

• 1-10: Measures attention deficit hyperactivity disorder inattention symptoms
• 11-20: Measures attention deficit hyperactivity disorder hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms
• 21-30: Measures ODD symptoms
• 31-40: Measures "general childhood problems"
• 41-80: Measures non-ADHD disorders
• 81-90: Measures academic performance and deportment

Interpretation of subscale scores

Subscale scores add all scores on the items in the subset and divided by the total number of items in the subset. Subscale score cutoffs for the disorders are as follows:

• ADHD inattentive type: Teacher score of 2.56, parent score of 1.78.
• ADHD hyperactive/impulsive type: Teacher score of 1.78, parent score of 1.44.
• ADHD combined type: Teacher score of 2.00, parent score of 1.67.
• ODD: Teacher score of 1.38, parent score of 1.88.

See also

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Oppositional defiant disorder
• SNAP-IV rating scale
• SNAP-IV scoring instructions
• AACAP practice parameter for ADHD
• AACAP practice parameter for ODD
• EffectiveChildTherapy.org guidelines on ADHD
• EffectiveChildTherapy.org guidelines on ODD

References

1. Atkins, MS; Pelham, WE; Licht, MH (March 1985). "A comparison of objective classroom measures and teacher ratings of Attention Deficit Disorder.". Journal of abnormal child psychology 13 (1): 155–67. doi:10.1007/bf00918379. PMID 3973249.
2. "Scoring Instructions for the SNAP-IV-C Rating Scale" (PDF). Scoring Instructions for the SNAP-IV-C Rating Scale. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
3. Bussing, R; Fernandez, M; Harwood, M; Wei, Hou; Garvan, CW; Eyberg, SM; Swanson, JM (September 2008). "Parent and teacher SNAP-IV ratings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms: psychometric properties and normative ratings from a school district sample.". Assessment 15 (3): 317–28. doi:10.1177/1073191107313888. PMID 18310593.