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Processing Speed Predicts Behavioral Treatment Outcomes in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Christopher J Adalio1, Elizabeth B Owens1, Keith McBurnett2

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Tolman Hall #1650, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1650, USA.

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|August 10, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Faster processing speed in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type (ADHD-I) predicts better outcomes from psychosocial interventions. Working memory did not significantly predict or moderate treatment success.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Child Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

Background:

  • Neuropsychological deficits, including working memory and processing speed, are linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
  • Children with the inattentive form of ADHD (ADHD-I), the most common subtype, show particular vulnerability to processing speed deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if processing speed and working memory predict treatment outcomes in ADHD-I symptom severity.
  • To examine if these cognitive functions moderate the effects of psychosocial interventions on ADHD-I symptom severity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 199 children (aged 7-11) with ADHD-I participating in a randomized clinical trial of a psychosocial-behavioral intervention.
  • Employed linear regression analyses to assess predictive and moderating effects of baseline processing speed and working memory on posttreatment symptom severity.

Main Results:

  • Baseline processing speed significantly predicted greater improvement in ADHD-I symptom severity after treatment, even when controlling for initial symptom levels.
  • No significant predictive effects of working memory or moderating effects of either processing speed or working memory on treatment outcomes were found.

Conclusions:

  • Processing speed is a significant predictor of treatment response to psychosocial interventions in children with ADHD-I.
  • Further research is needed to understand the implications of processing speed deficits for tailoring ADHD-I treatments.

Keywords:
ADHDClinical trialInattentivenessProcessing speedPsychosocial intervention

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