Incarcerated adolescents scoring high on the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scale are characterized by impairments...

Initially designed to assess executive control deficits for individuals meeting criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scale (BADDS) is now frequently used to assess such deficits more broadly. However, no existing studies have investigated whether individuals scoring high on the BADDS are characterized by impairments within higher-order brain regions associated with executive control. Here, we investigated this association among incarcerated adolescents (205 boys and 35 girls). We incorporated the use of source-based morphometry (SBM), a data-driven, multivariate approach to identify large-scale structural brain networks. In separate analyses performed with incarcerated boys and girls, we observed that higher BADDS total scores were related to reduced loading coefficients in SBM components comprised of brain regions associated with executive control (e.g., superior/middle frontal gyrus, superior/inferior parietal lobule, and middle temporal gyrus). These structural impairments suggest participants scoring high on the BADDS are characterized by executive control deficits, including domains such as self-regulation, working memory, and sustained attention. Our results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that the BADDS serves as a reliable measure of executive control deficits. Further, our results support the use of the BADDS in samples beyond individuals strictly meeting criteria for ADHD.