Parents' ratings of their child's ADHD core symptoms and adults' self-ratings of their own ADHD core symptoms, with respect to efficacy of active drugs versus placebo, were similar to clinicians' ratings. Exceptions were guanfacine, which was not superior to placebo according to parents' ratings (SMD −0·23, 95% CI −0·90 to 0·45), and bupropion, which was not superior to placebo with respect to parents' ratings (0·24, −0·44 to 0·92) and adults' self-reports (−0·30, −0·61 to 0·01; appendix pp 475–76).
