ADHD symptoms and executive function impairment: early predictors of later behavioral problems
Cecilia Wåhlstedt1, Lisa B Thorell, Gunilla Bohlin
1Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. cecilia.wahlstedt@psyk.uu.se
Developmental Neuropsychology
|April 30, 2008
Summary
Early attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and executive function (EF) impairments predict later problems. ADHD symptoms broadly predict socioemotional issues, while EF impairments predict problems within their own domain.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and executive function (EF) impairments are common in childhood.
- Understanding their longitudinal associations and impact on socioemotional development is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the continuity and cross-domain associations of ADHD symptoms and EF impairments.
- To examine their predictive relations to socioemotional problem behaviors in preschool children.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design.
- Factorial ANOVA and group contrasts.
- Sample of 87 non-clinical preschool children.
Main Results:
- Early ADHD symptoms and EF impairments predicted continuing problems within their respective domains.
- ADHD symptoms uniquely predicted broader socioemotional issues, including emotional regulation and social competence.
- No interactive effects were found between ADHD symptoms and EF impairments.
Conclusions:
- Both ADHD symptoms and EF impairments are early predictors of problem behaviors.
- ADHD symptoms have a wider predictive scope for socioemotional functioning than EF impairments.
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