title: Attention mechanisms in children with anxiety disorders and in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: implications for research and practice.
abstract: Inattention is among the most commonly referred problems for school-aged youth. Research suggests distinct mechanisms may contribute to attention problems in youth with anxiety disorders versus youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study compared children (8-17 years) with anxiety disorders (n = 24) and children (8-16 years) with ADHD (n = 23) on neurocognitive tests of both general and emotion-based attention processes. As hypothesized, children with ADHD demonstrated poorer selective and sustained attention, whereas youth with anxiety disorders demonstrated greater attentional bias toward threatening faces on a visual probe task. Findings suggest the neuropsychological differentiation of attention problems in anxious and ADHD children, despite potentially similar phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: Child/Adolescent Treatment Center, Institute for Behavior Therapy, Ardsley, NY 10502, USA. DrAdamWeissman@gmail.com
authors.forename: Adam S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Weissman
authors.forename: Brian C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mohlman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests