title: Multitasking in adults with ADHD.
abstract: Adults with ADHD have problems in everyday multitasking situations presumably because of deficits in executive functions. The present study aims to find out (a) whether adults with ADHD show deficient multitasking performance in a standardized task, (b) how they perceive the multitasking situation, and (c) which task structure might be beneficial for them as compared with adults without ADHD. Therefore, we experimentally compared task performance, mood, and motivation in a group of 45 men with ADHD (M-age = 34.47, SD = 9.95) with a comparison group of 42 men without ADHD (M-age = 31.12, SD = 10.59) in three conditions: (a) a multitasking paradigm, (b) an interleaving condition in which tasks had to be performed without planning or monitoring, and (c) a non-interleaving condition. Our results showed no impaired multitasking performance in adults with ADHD. However, they showed better mood and more motivation in the non-interleaving condition.
authors: Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA), German Institute for International Educational Research, University of Frankfurt, Germany. gawrilow@psych.uni-frankfurt.de
authors: Caterina
authors: C
authors: Gawrilow
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Merkt
authors: Heinrich
authors: H
authors: Goossens-Merkt
authors: Sebastian
authors: S
authors: Bodenburg
authors: Mike
authors: M
authors: Wendt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance