Stimulation seeking and hyperactivity in children with ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Thirty hyperactive and 30 non-hyperactive children were confronted with a delay, consisting of a waiting situation of 15 minutes, either with or without extra stimulation provided by the presentation of a videotape. The behaviour of the child during the waiting period was videotaped and later coded by two naive observers. In line with theories that emphasise the stimulation-seeking function of hyperactive behaviours, such as the optimal stimulation account and the delay aversion theory, a group by stimulation effect was hypothesised. For two categories of activity this was found, with ADHD children displaying more activity than non-ADHD children in the no-stimulation but not in the stimulation condition. These data provide support for the stimulation-seeking function of certain features of ADHD hyperactivity.
Antrop
I
I
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Ghent, Belgium. Inge.Antrop@rug.ac.be
Roeyers
H
H
Van Oost
P
P
Buysse
A
A
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D004777:Environment; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006948:Hyperkinesis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires