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Relation Between Outcomes on a Continuous Performance Test and ADHD Symptoms Over Time

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Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the developmental trajectories of neuropsychological functioning and ADHD symptomatology in a longitudinal sample of children ages 9 to 14. Participants and measures were derived from the Multimodal Treatment Study for ADHD including 534MTA participants and 254 normal controls. Despite improvement over time, MTA participants continued to receive higher ratings of ADHD symptomatology and exhibit greater difficulties across the majority of neuropsychological outcomes. No relations were found between improvements in neuropsychological functioning and ADHD symptomatology over time. Findings provide support for the persistence of neuropsychological functioning and ADHD symptomatology. Findings did not support the hypothesized relation between improvements in frontally-mediated neuropsychological functioning and ADHD symptomatology possibly due to the brief 1-year lag and limited assessment battery. Findings are discussed in relation to neuropsychological development including recommendations for future research.

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Acknowledgments

The Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) was a National Institute of Mental health (NIMH) cooperative agreement randomized clinical trial involving six clinical sites. Collaborators from the National Institute of Mental Health: Peter S. Jensen, M.D. (currently at REACH Institute and Mayo Clinic), L. Eugene Arnold, M.D., M.Ed. (currently at Ohio State University), Joanne B. Severe, M.S. (Clinical Trials Operations and Biostatistics Unit, Division of Services and Intervention Research), Benedetto Vitiello, M.D. (Child & Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Interventions Research Branch), Kimberly Hoagwood, Ph.D. (currently at Columbia); previous contributors from NIMH to the early phase: John Richters, Ph.D. (currently at National Institute of Nursing Research); Donald Vereen, M.D. (currently at National Institute on Drug Abuse). Principal investigators and co-investigators from the clinical sites are: University of California, Berkeley/San Francisco: Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph.D. (Berkeley), Glen R. Elliott, Ph.D., M.D. (San Francisco); Duke University: C. Keith Conners, Ph.D., Karen C. Wells, Ph.D., John March, M.D., M.P.H., Jeffery N. Epstein, Ph.D (currently at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center).; University of California, Irvine/Los Angeles: James Swanson, Ph.D. (Irvine), Dennis P. Cantwell, M.D., (deceased, Los Angeles), Timothy Wigal, Ph.D. (Irvine); Long Island Jewish Medical Center/Montreal Children’s Hospital: Howard B. Abikoff, Ph.D. (currently at New York University School of Medicine), Lily Hechtman, M.D. (McGill University); New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University/Mount Sinai Medical Center: Laurence L. Greenhill, M.D. (Columbia), Jeffrey H. Newcorn, M.D. (Mount Sinai School of Medicine); University of Pittsburgh: William E. Pelham, Ph.D. (currently at State University of New York, Buffalo), Betsy Hoza, Ph.D. (currently at University of Vermont), Brooke Molina, Ph.D. Original statistical and trial design consultant: Helena C. Kraemer, Ph.D. (Stanford University). Follow-up phase statistical collaborators: Robert D. Gibbons, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Chicago), Sue Marcus, Ph.D (Mt. Sinai College of Medicine), Kwan Hur, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Chicago). Collaborator from the Office of Special Education Programs/US Department of Education: Thomas

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Aaron J. Vaughn, Jeffery N. Epstein, Joseph Rausch, Mekibib Altaye & Joshua Langberg

  2. Mount Sinai Medical School, New York, NY, USA

    Jeffrey H. Newcorn

  3. University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Stephen P. Hinshaw

  4. McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Lily Hechtman

  5. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    L. Eugene Arnold

  6. University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    James M. Swanson & Timothy Wigal

  7. Division of Behavioral Medicine & Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, MLC 10006, 3333 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, OH, 45229–3039, USA

    Aaron J. Vaughn

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  1. Aaron J. Vaughn
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  2. Jeffery N. Epstein
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Correspondence to Aaron J. Vaughn.

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Vaughn, A.J., Epstein, J.N., Rausch, J. et al. Relation Between Outcomes on a Continuous Performance Test and ADHD Symptoms Over Time. J Abnorm Child Psychol 39, 853–864 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9501-y

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