Neuropsychological Correlates of Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Explainable by Comorbid Disruptive Behavior or Reading Problems?

• Published in: Journal of abnormal psychology (1965) Vol. 107; no. 3; pp. 468 - 480
• Main Authors: Nigg, Joel T., Hinshaw, Stephen P., Carte, Estol T., Treuting, Jennifer J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-08-1998
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Attention deficit disorder; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Boys; Case-Control Studies; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - complications; Child clinical studies; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognition Disorders - physiopathology; Cognitive Ability; Comorbidity; Conduct Disorder; Dyslexia - complications; Human; Humans; Hyperactivity; Male; Medical sciences; Neuropsychological Assessment; Neuropsychological impairment; Neuropsychological Tests; Oppositional Defiant Disorder; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reading Disabilities; Regression Analysis; Volition - physiology; Human; Concomitant disease; School age; Attentional disorder; Reading disorder; Hyperactivity; Conduct disorder; Male; Diagnosis; Social behavior disorder; Child
• ISSN: 0021-843X; 2769-7541; 1939-1846; 2769-755X
• DOI: 10.1037/0021-843X.107.3.468

Questions remain as to whether neuropsychological processing deficits associated with child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are accounted for by co-occurring disorders, especially in clinical samples. The authors examined ADHD and comorbid oppositional defiant, conduct, and reading disorders. Boys with ADHD displayed hypothesized deficits on effortful neuropsychological tasks regardless of categorical or dimensional control of comorbid antisocial behavior problems. The same result held when reading problems were controlled, although boys with ADHD plus reading disorder (n
= 16) exhibited specific impairment on linguistic output tasks. Simultaneous control of reading and behavior problems yielded the same result. Overall, results suggest that in a clinical sample, difficulties on effortful neuropsychological tasks that require planning or controlled motor output pertain at least in part to ADHD and are not fully accounted for by comorbid conditions.