Executive functioning in high-IQ adults with ADHD.
BACKGROUND
To examine the association between psychological tests of executive functioning and functional outcomes among high-IQ adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).


METHODS
Subjects were high-IQ adults with (n=64) and without ADHD (n=53). Subjects were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests assessing executive functioning.


RESULTS
High-IQ adults with ADHD performed less well than those without ADHD on several psychological tests of executive functioning, including the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Color and Word Test, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF), California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and an auditory continuous performance test (CPT). Test performance in the high-IQ adult ADHD group, however, was average. In the entire sample, performance on several tests of executive functioning including the ROCF and the CVLT were significant predictors of real-world functioning.


CONCLUSIONS
High-IQ adults with ADHD perform less well on tests of executive functioning relative to high-IQ control participants. Performance on several tests of executive functioning was a significant predictor of functioning.
Antshel
K M
KM
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
Faraone
S V
SV
Maglione
K
K
Doyle
A E
AE
Fried
R
R
Seidman
L J
LJ
Biederman
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D055815:Young Adult