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Validity And Diagnostic Accuracy Of Broad Symptom Measures And Adhd Symptom Ratings For Identifying Individuals With Adhd Combined And Adhd Inattentive, Stacy Jean Graves

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Neuropsychological assessments conducted with children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often includes broad measures of behavioral disturbances, as well as specific measures of ADHD symptomatology. However, it is unclear the extent to which these two types of measures share substantial common variance or are useful in improving diagnostic accuracy. In efforts to increase efficiency, the current study examined these matters to provide clinicians with information that might help improve the selection of behavioral ratings for evaluation purposes.

Participants included in this study were evaluated for clinical purposes at a community based private practice. Participants included 253 of these children …

Emotion Socialization And Families Of Children With And Without Adhd., Danielle M. Walerius

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emotional competence (EC) represents several distinct emotional skills found to be strongly associated with children’s socioemotional outcomes. EC is thought to develop through a process known as emotion socialization (ES), whereby children’s emotions and emotion-based behaviors are socialized through interactions with parents and/or other primary figures. The present study examined ES across families of children with and without ADHD in order to clarify the role ES plays in the development of EC in typically developing (TD) children versus children more prone to EC impairments due to intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., inattention, disinhibition, etc.). Forty-eight children 5 to 8-years-old (23 with ADHD, …

Examining The Relation Between Family Functioning And Child Hyperactivity: Simultaneously Testing Four Proposed Mechanisms, Rosanna P. Breaux

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study examined the bidirectional relation between multiple measures of family functioning and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms across the preschool years. Additionally, it examined if these relations held when comorbid child ODD symptoms and parental ADHD symptoms were taken into account. Participants included 258 (138 boys) 3-year-old children (M = 44.13 months, SD = 3.39) with and without behavior problems and their parents who took part in a 3-year longitudinal study. Evidence was found for both parent and child effects, depending on the measure of family functioning. Specifically, maternal depressive symptoms, overreactive parenting, and stressful life events were …

Validity Of Adhd Symptoms In Toddlers, Hallie Brown

Masters Theses

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common child neurodevelopmental disorders. The disorder is typically diagnosed in elementary school, but there is growing evidence for the validity of ADHD in preschoolers, and symptoms likely emerge even earlier than preschool years. Research suggests that ADHD symptoms can be evident in toddlers beyond developmentally appropriate behavior, and symptoms in toddlers are predictive of later impairment. However, few studies have examined the validity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) ADHD symptoms in this younger population. The present study examined the 18 DSM ADHD symptoms in a community sample …

Assessing The Impact Of White Noise On Cognition In Individuals With And Without Adhd, Scott Roye

LSU Master's Theses

Although originally viewed only as a childhood disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is now recognized to persist into adulthood in many individuals. Adults with ADHD often demonstrate academic, cognitive, and general functioning deficits as a result of their symptoms. Theorists have suggested that features typically associated with ADHD, such as distractibility, excessive motor activity, and executive dysfunction, may stem from being under stimulated at a physiological level. This lack of arousal potentially causes individuals to seek out stimulation, making them more susceptible to background noise and other environmental stimuli. However, previous research primarily focuses on children and adolescents with …

The Effects Of Childhood Irritability On Adolescent Outcomes And Treatment Response In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Estrella Heber

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Childhood irritability has received considerable attention in recent research due in part to the highly impairing consequences of severe irritability and its association with poor long-term outcomes (Leibenluft, Cohen, Gorrindo, Brook, & Pine, 2006; Stringaris, Cohen, Pine, & Leibenluft, 2009; Stringaris & Goodman, 2009a). While the frequency and severity of irritability typically declines with age, there are individuals who continue to display irritability at stable or increasing levels (Wiggins, Mitchell, Stringaris, & Leibenluft, 2014). Regardless of whether it persists or remits, the effects of childhood irritability resonate for many years and it remains a potent predictor of poor outcomes across …

Executive Dysfunction Or State Regulation: A Dimensional Comparison Of Two Neuropsychological Theories Of Attention Disorder Symptoms Using Rdoc Paradigms, Justin Hull Ory

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Two leading theories regarding the neurocognitive basis of attentional disorders are the executive dysfunction theory and the state regulation theory. The executive dysfunction theory takes a top-down approach, explaining the symptoms of ADHD as a byproduct of general deficits in executive functioning—particularly disinhibition. The state regulation theory takes a bottom-up approach, explaining the symptoms of ADHD as a failure to be sufficiently aroused by, and subsequently engage with, less stimulating or rewarding tasks. These two theories predict different patterns of performance on tasks of executive functioning and attention, and research has demonstrated mixed support for both theories. The present study …

Social Cognition In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Elyse Parke

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which impacts behavioral outcomes, including social functioning. Children with ADHD demonstrate impairment across a number of social domains, including aggressive behavior, poor social skills, and higher rates of Oppositional Defiant Disorder compared to typically developing peers. However, the underlying neurocognitive underpinnings of these poor social outcomes are unclear. Furthermore, little is known regarding the impact of ADHD symptomatology on aspects of social cognition. Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity may differentially impact components of social cognition. Determining whether performance on social cognition tasks is predictive of social skills and problem behaviors is also an area …

Effects Of A Function-Based Peer Management Intervention With Middle-School Students With Adhd, Kate A. Helbig

Master's Theses

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by impairment in functioning due to inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, as well as difficulties in school with social rejection and academic underachievement (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a peer-mediated non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) intervention informed by functional assessment data to decrease disruptive behavior for students with a special education classification of OHI-ADHD. Participants included three student dyads in a middle school setting located in the Southeastern United States. An A/B/A/B withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention. The primary dependent variables …

Examining The Effects Of Frustration On Working Memory Capacity In An Emerging Adult Sample, Jonathan Parks Fillauer

Masters Theses

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with numerous pejorative outcomes in adults such as low frustration tolerance and deficits in central executive functioning. The present study aims to examine (1) the effect of induced frustration on working memory capacity (WMC) and (2) the unique contribution of ADHD symptoms and other commonly comorbid disorders (i.e., anxiety/depression and alcohol use) to frustration. Participants (N=66) were randomly assigned to either the control group (n=32) or the experimental group (n=34). The Frustration Induction Procedure (FIP) was administered to participants in the experimental group and a neutral, non-frustrating task was administered to a control group. A …

Predictive Value Of Adhd Symptomatology On Motives And Outcomes Of Stimulant Misuse, Alexander Laszlo Peterkin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

ADHD stimulant misuse is defined as taking a stimulant used to treat ADHD either without having a prescription for that stimulant or in a manner that deviates from the prescription’s instructions. This has been a growing trend among undergraduate students over recent years. Prior research has found that misusers are likely to have severe symptoms of ADHD, misuse for primarily academic reasons, and display problems associated with substance abuse. The current study aimed to determine the predictive value of ADHD symptomatology on frequency of ADHD stimulant misuse, mediated by academic motives for misuse and substance abuse problems. The survey for …

The Effects Of Meditation On Brain Organization And The Implications For Treating Adhd, Talia Gibson

Honors Projects

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has recently become increasingly diagnosed for children and adolescents. As of now, the most common treatment method is medication, with the purpose of changing brain organization. Recently, however, there has been increasing interest in the use of mindfulness meditation to treat the symptoms associated with ADHD. In this paper, eleven different studies, which have introduced mindfulness meditation as a treatment method for ADHD, are analyzed. The studies measure the degree to which mindfulness meditation improves common symptoms associated with ADHD. These symptoms include attentional problems, reduced mindful awareness, externalizing and internalizing problems, reduced self-control, impaired social behavior, …

Adhd And Theory Of Mind In School-Age Children: Exploring The Cognitive Nature Of Social Interactions In Children With Adhd, Rachel Feigenbaum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience significant difficulties with social skills (Barkley, 2006; DuPaul & Stoner, 2003; Stormont, 2001). The inhibitory deficit associated with ADHD is typically identified as the cause of these impaired social skills (Barkley, 2006). Additionally, some researchers have suggested that theory of mind (ToM), which is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and to others, may be involved, but the research on ToM deficits in children with ADHD is limited and the findings are mixed. A key methodological issue in this literature is the use of traditional but problematic measures of advanced …

Caars-S:L Infrequency Index Validation: A Pilot Comparison Of Paper And Online Assessments, Elizabeth R. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

One obstacle to the accurate diagnosis of ADHD in college students is malingering, although many symptom self-report measures do not contain feigning validity scales. The Infrequency Index (CII) for the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale–Self-Report: Long Version (CAARS-S:L) was developed for this purpose, although further validation of the index is needed. Another topic of interest in ADHD malingering research is the increasing use of online assessments. Little is known about how ADHD is malingered in an online format, particularly on the CAARS-S:L. The current study aims to integrate these strands of research by examining the utility of the CII in …

The Relation Between Quantitative Eeg Coherence And Self-Report Adhd Behavior Scale Responses, Tayllor Vetter

Theses and Dissertations

Differences in brain wave activity during resting states between adults with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been detected with electroencephalography (EEG). However, the relation between these patterns of brain wave activity and a dimensional, self-report measure of ADHD symptoms in male and female college students has never been investigated. The present study aimed to determine whether coherence, a measure of brain wave activity, can predict self-report symptoms of inattentiveness and hyperactivity in male and female college students. The analyses consisted of 14 male and 28 female adults between 18 and 27 years of age. Regression analyses were utilized to …

Self-Efficacy Influencing Parental Homework Involvement For Middle School Youth With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd), Diana Yvonne Gintner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite evidence demonstrating the positive impact of parental involvement in children's education, youth transitioning from elementary school to middle school are often extended a greater level of autonomy. Parental involvement may decrease, which may pose particular challenges to students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The theoretical framework for this study was Bandura's self-efficacy theory which involves positive self-esteem, coping strength, and persistence toward goals. Bandura's ideas help to clarify why self-efficacy plays a role in parental involvement decisions. Through a multiple case study method, seven parents of middle school youth with ADHD, were interviewed through four open ended questions …

Socioeconomic Challenges In The Household And The Prevalence Of Comorbidity Among Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Randy Lee Perrin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorder, is increasing annually at about 5% per year. ADHD has been diagnosed in approximately 6.4 billion children in the U.S., and it is estimated that 66% of those afflicted have 1 or more comorbid conditions. Children with ADHD are often from socioeconomically challenged households. What is unclear from the literature is the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), defined as education, employment, and income and the reporting of comorbidities with ADHD. The problem is that children with ADHD from low SES households may be reporting a higher prevalence of comorbid …

Domestic Parent-Child Interaction Problems And Working Memory: The Mediating Role Of Inattentive Adhd Symptoms, Svetha Mohan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the mediating effects of ADHD Inattentive symptoms on domestic parent-child interaction problems and working memory. Inattentive symptoms in children with ADHD are known to cause forgetfulness, slow processing speed, and negative parent-child interactions. Working memory deficits in phonological short term memory and the central executive are also well-established in children with ADHD. However, it is currently unknown to what extent inattentive symptoms are responsible for home behavior problems in conjunction with phonological working memory deficits. The aims are tested using two validated, common clinical questionnaires: The Teacher Report Form and the Home …

The Relationship Between Physical Exercise And Cognition In Children With Typical Development And Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Beron Wei Zhong Tan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project sought to investigate the relationship between physical exercise and cognition in children with and without a neurodevelopmental condition. To achieve this aim, three approaches were undertaken to explore the exercise and cognition relationship. The first approach sought to understand the efficacy of exercise interventions on cognition in individuals with a neurodevelopmental disorder. The second approach was to understand the effectiveness of an exercise activity when compared to a cognitively-engaging tablet game activity on measures of implicit learning and attention in children with and without a neurodevelopmental condition. The third approach was to investigate if psychophysiological measures could …