The adult ADHD screen: the WHO, an NIMH grant, and an Eli Lilly affiliation on the paper
The ASRS was developed with the World Health Organization. Its 2005 validation paper carries an NIMH grant, and the author affiliations printed on the publisher's page include Eli Lilly and Company. The funding line itself was not readable.
We have not finished checking this source. No judgement either way. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: An affiliation is not a funding statement. The paper's funding line was not readable, so whether Lilly funded the scale is not established and is not claimed; the NIMH grant is on the record.
Significant findings
The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale is the six-question screener most adults see before a stimulant or atomoxetine prescription. The form says it "was developed in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Workgroup on Adult ADHD that included the following team of psychiatrists and researchers" and names Lenard Adler, Ronald Kessler and Thomas Spencer.
The 2005 validation paper tested the eighteen-item scale and the six-item screener against blind clinical diagnoses in a community sample, alongside the revision of the WHO's diagnostic interview. PubMed and Europe PMC record an NIMH grant, U01-MH60220.
The author affiliations printed on the publisher's page include "Eli Lilly and Company, Global Health Outcomes." Lilly sold atomoxetine, an adult ADHD drug, at the time. An affiliation is not a funding statement, and the paper's funding statement could not be read without a subscription. This row goes exactly that far and no further.
Worth asking
The screener is free, and that is why it is on the tablet. A positive result is a reason for what the form calls "a more in-depth clinician interview", which is the step that actually matters. If your clinic went from six questions to a prescription without one, that is the question to ask.
Source
The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population — Kessler RC, Adler L, Ames M, Demler O, Faraone S, Hiripi E, et al. (2005)
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291704002892
DOI: 10.1017/s0033291704002892
How this was scored
- Study design
- not recorded
- Funding
- not recorded
- Published in
- not recorded
- Sample size
- not recorded
- Preregistered
- not recorded
- Conflicts disclosed
- not recorded
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
We have not finished checking this source, so there is no scoring to show yet. “We have not checked this yet” and “this is disputed” are different statements, so no scored band is shown rather than a low one.
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published September 17, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
veisund rates this source "not yet assessed". We have not finished checking this source. No judgement either way. One caveat travels with that badge: An affiliation is not a funding statement. The paper's funding line was not readable, so whether Lilly funded the scale is not established and is not claimed; the NIMH grant is on the record. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population — Kessler RC, Adler L, Ames M, Demler O, Faraone S, Hiripi E, et al. (2005). DOI: 10.1017/s0033291704002892. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.