ADHD Symptoms and Executive Function Impairment: Early Predictors of Later Behavioral Problems

Abstract

This longitudinal study investigated ADHD symptoms and EF impairments in terms of continuity and cross-domain associations, as well as their predictive relations to a range of socioemotional problem behaviors. We applied a factorial ANOVA design to study additive and interactive effects in a sample of non-clinical preschool children (N = 87) and complemented these analyses with group contrasts. The results showed that early ADHD symptoms and EF impairments acted as predictors of continuing problems within each domain. However, it was only ADHD symptoms that predicted other aspects of socioemotional functioning such as dysfunctional emotional regulation and lower levels of social competence. There was no indication of interactive effects on any measure. In conclusion, our results showed that both ADHD symptoms and impaired EF act as early predictors of problem behaviors, although it is clear that predictions based on ADHD symptoms encompass a wider range of problems in early school age children.

Early Findings of Preventive Child Healthcare Professionals Predict Psychosocial Problems in Preadolescence: The TRAILS Study

“…This finding confirms previous findings in other studies of early predictors for behavioral problems, which found that externalizing problems 23,24 and attention/hyperactivity problems 25 in childhood predicted later psychosocial problems. Other studies found that problems with enuresis in children were associated with behavioral problems.…”

Desordenes en funciones ejecutivas y síntomas de desorden de comportamiento adaptativo en niños preescolares

“…Other studies (Barkley, 1998;Brocki et al, 2010;Gambin & Świȩcicka, 2009;Sonuga-Barke et al, 2002;Wåhlstedt et al, 2008) agree that, usually, the ADHD symptoms occur simultaneously with behavioural inhibition. But working memory and flexibility are also affected (Brocki et al, 2010;Re, De Franchis, & Cornoldi, 2010).…”

“…Some studies have found strong correlation between EF dysfunctions and ADHD symptoms in children (Brocki, Eninger, Thorell, & Bohlin, 2010;Mullane et al, 2011;Sonuga-Barke et al, 2002). Recent studies (Clark, Prior, & Kinsella, 2002;Fischer, Barkley, Smallish, & Fletcher, 2005;Wåhlstedt et al, 2008) have found that ADHD symptoms along with EF impairments are early predictors of continued disruptive behaviour disorders due to features such as inattention, poor impulse control, and poor planning ability.…”

“…An accurate study of these disorders in preschool children is of great interest because their symptoms can be detected at an early age and because they can also be comorbid (Sonuga-Barke, Dalen, Daley, & Remington, 2002;Thorell & Wåhlstedt, 2006). It has been demonstrated that children who show symptoms of psychiatric disorders at an early age, but who do not meet the diagnosis of a particular disorder, are also impaired in their psychosocial functioning, such as the diagnosed children (Wåhlstedt et al, 2008). ADHD is one of the most common disorders in children.…”

“…Funciones ejecutivas; síntomas del síndrome de défict de atención con hiperactividad; trastorno de conducta adaptativa; preescolar; niños Executive Function (EF) is a set of higher-order cognitive processes and emotional and motivational skills, mediated by the prefrontal cortex of the brain (Trujillo & Pineda, 2008;Welsh, Pennington, & Groisser, 1991), which aims to help a person to lead and guide the behaviour to reach a goal (Wåhlstedt, Thorell, & Bohlin, 2008), as well as to regulate it against possible changes in his/her immediate context (Goldberg, 2002). This function also regulates the cognitive, emotional, and social behaviour of individuals (Anderson, 2002;Barkley, 2000;Goldberg, 2002;Senn, Espy, & Kaufmann, 2004).…”