title: Sex Differences in Attentional Performance in a Clinical Sample With ADHD of the Combined Subtype.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the present study was to assess whether girls with ADHD express similar deficits in various attention tasks to those described in boys.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 175 children with the combined subtype of ADHD (89 females) and 132 normal controls (60 females) aged 8 to 14 years participated. Five different tests were conducted: alertness, sustained attention, focused attention, divided attention, and a set-shifting task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The children with ADHD performed worse on all aspects of attention compared with healthy control participants. Several overall general sex differences could be detected, with boys exhibiting faster reaction times and greater response variability. Controlling for ADHD symptom severity and psychiatric comorbidities, no Sex × Diagnosis interaction was found, suggesting that males and females with ADHD experience comparable attentional deficits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that deficits in various attentional domains are a robust component of ADHD in males and females.
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Germany thomas.guenther2@post.rwth-aachen.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva Lotte
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Knospe
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herpertz-Dahlmann
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Germany Research Centre Juelich, Germany.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konrad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: ADHD; cognitive functioning; sex