Vigilance and sustained attention in children and adults with ADHD.
OBJECTIVE
The present article tests the hypothesis of a sustained attention deficit in children and adults suffering from ADHD.


METHODS
Vigilance and sustained attention of 52 children with ADHD and 38 adults with ADHD were assessed using a computerized vigilance task. Furthermore, the attentional performance of healthy children (N = 52) and healthy adults (N = 38) was examined.


RESULTS
Children and adults with ADHD performed significantly less well in the vigilance task than healthy participants (main effect for group). Furthermore, children and adults showed a significant decrease of performance over time (time-on-task effects). However, there was no greater decrement of performance with the passage of time in patient groups than in control groups (group-by-time interaction).


CONCLUSIONS
The present results do not support the hypothesis of a sustained attention deficit in children and adults with ADHD.
Tucha
Lara
L
School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, UK.
Tucha
Oliver
O
Walitza
Susanne
S
Sontag
Thomas A
TA
Laufkötter
Rainer
R
Linder
Martin
M
Lange
Klaus W
KW
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time