Hyperactive children: a study of the content analysis of their speech

A group of hyperactive boys with attention deficit disorder (DSM-III) (n = 13) was compared to a group of normative, nonhyperactive boys (n = 16) with respect to Gottschalk-Gleser scores derived from 5-min speech samples they produced in response to standardized and purposely ambiguous instructions. The hyperactive boys had significantly higher mean scores than the normative boys for cognitive impairment, social alienation-personal disorganization, and total depression. Of the eight depression subscales, the hyperactive boys had significantly elevated scores on hopelessness, self-accusation (a cluster composed of shame, guilt, and hostility inwards), and psychomotor retardation. Problems with the classification of the hyperactive syndrome, which is equated with the attention deficit disorder, are briefly discussed. The present study gives some support to the concept, as adjudged from the content analysis of verbal behavior, that hyperactivity, at least in boys, may be associated with cognitive impairment, increased general psychiatric morbidity, and depression. Whether single or multiple etiological factors are involved in this disorder cannot be ascertained from this study.