title: Executive functions and adaptive functioning in young adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with impairments in occupational, social, and educational functioning in adults. This study examined relations of adaptive impairment to ADHD symptom domains (inattentive-disorganized and hyperactive-impulsive) and to deficits in executive functioning (EF) in 195 well-characterized adults (105 ADHD, 90 non-ADHD, between ages 18 and 37). Participants completed a battery of EF measures as well as assessments of adaptive functioning. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate latent factors for adaptive functioning and EF. In a measurement model, weaker EF was associated with poorer adaptive functioning (r = -.30). When multi-informant composite variables for current inattentive-disorganized and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptoms were included in the structural model, EF no longer predicted adaptive functioning. While both symptom composites were similarly related to EF (inattentive-disorganized r = .36; hyperactive-impulsive r = .29), inattentive-disorganized symptoms accounted for more variance in adaptive functioning (67.2% vs. 3.6%). Furthermore, for retrospectively reported childhood symptoms of ADHD, only the inattentive-disorganized symptom domain was related to EF or adaptive impairment. These results suggest that, in adults with ADHD, inattentive-disorganized symptoms may be the primary contributor to key aspects of poorer adaptive function and may be the behavioral path through which EF deficits lead to adaptive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1116, USA.
authors.forename: Gillian M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Stavro
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ettenhofer
authors.forename: Joel T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Nigg
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005790:General Adaptation Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008665:Metalloporphyrins / Q000378:metabolism; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D008665:Metalloporphyrins; C023540:factor F430