Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD Inattention as Predictors of Externalizing, Internalizing, and Impairment Domains: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study.
Although sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is distinct from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattention (ADHD-IN), few studies have examined whether SCT longitudinally predicts other symptom or impairment dimensions. This study used 4 sources (mothers, fathers, primary teachers, and secondary teachers) and 3 occasions of measurement (first, second, and third grades) with 758 first grade (55 % boys), 718 second grade (54 % boys), and 585 third grade (53 % boys) children from Spain to determine SCT's and ADHD-IN's unique longitudinal relationships with psychopathology, academic impairment, and social impairment over the 1- and 2-year intervals (i.e., first to third grade, second to third grade). For 1- and 2-year intervals using both mothers' and fathers' ratings, higher levels of SCT uniquely predicted higher levels of anxiety, depression, academic impairment, and social impairment whereas higher levels of ADHD-IN uniquely predicted higher levels of ADHD-HI, ODD, and academic impairment. For 1- and 2-year intervals across different primary and secondary teachers (i.e., first/second and third grade ratings were provided by different teachers), higher scores on ADHD-IN uniquely predicted poorer outcomes across domains whereas higher scores on SCT uniquely predicted lower levels of ADHD-HI and ODD for both intervals in addition to higher levels of depression (for primary teachers only), academic impairment (for 1-year interval only), and peer rejection (2-year interval only for primary teachers). Overall, SCT was significantly associated with important outcomes independent of ADHD-IN over 1- and 2-year intervals and across four different raters. This study provides further evidence for distinguishing between SCT and ADHD-IN in home and school settings.
University of the Balearic Islands & Research Institute on Health Sciences (IUNICS), Palma, Spain.
Maria del Mar
Mdel M
Bernad
University of the Balearic Islands & Research Institute on Health Sciences (IUNICS), Palma, Spain.
Mateu
M
Servera
Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Stephen P
SP
Becker
Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4820, USA. glburns@wsu.edu.
G Leonard
GL
Burns
D000124:Achievement; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D066107:Social Skills; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
ADHD; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Comorbidity; Functional impairment; Longitudinal; Sluggish cognitive tempo