TY - JOUR
T1 - The ADHD response-inhibition deficit as measured by the stop task
T2 - Replication with DSM-IV combined type, extension, and qualification
AU - Nigg, Joel T.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIMH Grant R03-MH57244 and an All University Research Initiation Award from Michigan State University. I thank Lisa Blaskey, Cynthia Huang, Cheryl-Lynn Podolski, and Margaret Sheridan for invaluable assistance in data collection; Gordon Logan for providing the stop program and for consulting regarding data cleaning; Alexander von Eye for statistical consultation; and Jaap Oosterlaan for comments on an earlier version of the article.
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - Although response inhibition has been proposed as a core element of child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the literature is heavily reliant on studies using DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria, older methods of measuring response inhibition, samples of boys, and failing to control thoroughly for comorbid problems - both as diagnoses and as subclinical variation. The present study replicated a deficit in response inhibition in the ADHD combined type (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994) using samples matched on age and sex. The study replicated an effect size of approximately d = .6 in boys with ADHD, and observed an even larger effect size for girls, although the Sex x Group interaction was nonsignificant. Children with ADHD also had problems with response output, shown by variable responding. Excluding comorbid conduct disorder, reading disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive- compulsive disorder, major depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder from the sample did not alter the results. Correlations indicated that response inhibition was associated with both attentional problems and reading level. Covarying for reading problems did not eliminate the ADHD group effect, but the association of response inhibition with reading clearly requires further examination. Overall, the study supported the role of response inhibition in the DSM-IV ADHD combined type, but with key qualifications as to degree of specificity in reference both to comorbid problems and other executive functions.
AB - Although response inhibition has been proposed as a core element of child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the literature is heavily reliant on studies using DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria, older methods of measuring response inhibition, samples of boys, and failing to control thoroughly for comorbid problems - both as diagnoses and as subclinical variation. The present study replicated a deficit in response inhibition in the ADHD combined type (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994) using samples matched on age and sex. The study replicated an effect size of approximately d = .6 in boys with ADHD, and observed an even larger effect size for girls, although the Sex x Group interaction was nonsignificant. Children with ADHD also had problems with response output, shown by variable responding. Excluding comorbid conduct disorder, reading disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive- compulsive disorder, major depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder from the sample did not alter the results. Correlations indicated that response inhibition was associated with both attentional problems and reading level. Covarying for reading problems did not eliminate the ADHD group effect, but the association of response inhibition with reading clearly requires further examination. Overall, the study supported the role of response inhibition in the DSM-IV ADHD combined type, but with key qualifications as to degree of specificity in reference both to comorbid problems and other executive functions.
KW - ADHD
KW - Response inhibition
KW - Stop task
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U2 - 10.1023/A:1021980002473
DO - 10.1023/A:1021980002473
M3 - Article
C2 - 10582840
AN - SCOPUS:0032699699
SN - 0091-0627
VL - 27
SP - 393
EP - 402
JO - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
IS - 5
ER -