Cognitive, emotional, and social functioning of preschoolers with attention deficit hyperactivity problems

Abstract

Background Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with deficits in different functional domains. It remains unclear if deficits in different domains are equally strong in early childhood, and which deficits are specific to ADHD. Here, we describe functional domains in preschoolers and assess deficits in children with ADHD problems, by comparing them to preschoolers with other mental health problems or who develop typically. Methods The ADHD Study assessed 1195 ca. 3.5 years old preschoolers through a semi-structured parent interview, parent questionnaires, and with neuropsychological tests. We determined functional domains by applying factor analytic methods to a broad set of questionnaire- and test-scales. Using resulting factor scores, we employed a Bayesian hierarchical regression to estimate functional deficits in children with ADHD. Results We found that preschoolers’ functioning could be described along the seven relatively independent dimensions activity level and regulation, executive function, cognition, language, emotion regulation, introversion, and sociability. Compared to typically developing preschoolers, those with ADHD had deficits in all domains except introversion and sociability. Only deficits in activity level regulation and executive functions were larger than 0.5 standardised mean deviations and larger than deficits of children with other mental health problems. Conclusions Preschoolers with ADHD have deficits in multiple functional domains, but only impairments in activity level and regulation and executive functions are specific for ADHD and large enough to be clinically significant. Research on functioning in these domains will be important for understanding the development of ADHD, and for improving treatment and prevention approaches.

Targeting neuroinflammation with Abscisic Acid reduces pain sensitivity in females and hyperactivity in males of an ADHD mice model

“…This feature has not been previously described since no female studies have been carried out in rodent models of ADHD. In humans, deficits in sociability have been associated with both genders with ADHD [64,65], whereas other studies report no differences[66]. Further studies are warranted to test sociability and social interactions in female and male animal models, to understand whether social deficits are a direct consequence of dopaminergic dysfunction or indirectly, a result of self-perceived stigma in humans.…”

Family skill development for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder behavior problem alleviation model in at-risk preschool children: a mixed methods study

“…Activities within the FSD-ADHD-BPA model were carefully examined. Preschool children with ADHD have deficits in multiple functions, activity level impairments, and significant executive functions (EF) impairments (Biele et al, 2022). Interactions with families and other members were enriched by "Being mindful-helpcognition-exercise" activities, including: 1) "Bottle of mindfulness" aimed to calm emotions and enhance emotional control through mindfulness, crucial for early learning (Jean, 2020); 2) "Talented person can help oneself" activity fostered memory, cognitive flexibility, and routines, essential to counter ADHD-related memory deficits (Irwin et al, 2021); 3) "Think about what color" encouraged memory and discernment, using the Stroop-effect concept, crucial for cognitive development, especially in ADHD at-risk preschool children (Okuzumi et al, 2015); and 4) "Exercise to keep pace with the colors" therapy was designed to improve inhibition, movement control, memory, and emotional regulation, aligning with exercise's benefits in ADHD management (Sun, Yu and Zhou, 2022).…”

Prenatal organophosphorus pesticide exposure and executive function in preschool-aged children in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

“…Parents and preschool teachers were asked to complete standardized inventories of child behavior before coming to the clinical assessment, which included neuropsychological tests and a semi-structured interview with the child. Methods and results from the preschool clinical assessment of neuropsychological functioning in MoBa have been previously described (Bendiksen et al, 2017;Biele et al, 2022;Overgaard et al, 2014Overgaard et al, , 2016Overgaard et al, , 2018aOvergaard et al, , 2018bOvergaard et al, , 2019Overgaard et al, , 2021Overgaard et al, , 2016Overgaard et al, , 2014, 2016, 2016Skogan et al, 2015Skogan et al, , 2016. From parent and teacher assessments, we selected instruments related to EF (sTable 1).…”