Sex Differences in Attentional Performance in a Clinical Sample With ADHD of the Combined Subtype
Thomas Günther1, Eva Lotte Knospe2, Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann2
1RWTH Aachen University, Germany thomas.guenther2@post.rwth-aachen.de.
Objective:
The goal of the present study was to assess whether girls with ADHD express similar deficits in various attention tasks to those described in boys.
Method:
A total of 175 children with the combined subtype of ADHD (89 females) and 132 normal controls (60 females) aged 8 to 14 years participated. Five different tests were conducted: alertness, sustained attention, focused attention, divided attention, and a set-shifting task.
Results:
The children with ADHD performed worse on all aspects of attention compared with healthy control participants. Several overall general sex differences could be detected, with boys exhibiting faster reaction times and greater response variability. Controlling for ADHD symptom severity and psychiatric comorbidities, no Sex × Diagnosis interaction was found, suggesting that males and females with ADHD experience comparable attentional deficits.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that deficits in various attentional domains are a robust component of ADHD in males and females.
More Related Videos
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
05:32Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings.
Conduct Disorder
