Delay aversion and immediate choice in Sepedi-speaking primary school children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

<jats:p> Motivational factors play a significant role in the pathology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and are associated with altered reinforcement sensitivity. Delay aversion as a motivational style is characterised by a negative emotional reaction to the burden of delay. Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have a stronger need to seek smaller immediate rewards rather than larger delayed rewards. This study ascertains whether children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have different responses when asked to choose between a larger delayed reward and a smaller immediate reward. Furthermore, it determines whether there are differences in response among the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder presentations. A sample ( N = 188) of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder participants ( n = 94) was compared with that of a group of children ( n = 94) without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These children attended primary school in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The Two-Choice Impulsivity Paradigm computer task was administered. The results showed that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder–combined presentation selected significantly smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards in comparison to the control group, whereas children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder–predominantly inattentive and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder–hyperactive/impulsive presentations did not demonstrate a significant difference in choice compared to the control group. In addition, no effect for gender was found. Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder seem to present with impulsive responses, which lead them to complete the concerned task faster and thereby escape delay. The study confirmed that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder–combined presentation may face problems with waiting for delayed rewards, which could have negative consequences in social and academic situations. </jats:p>

Delay aversion in school-aged children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…This suggests that children with ADHD have more trouble waiting for a reward than the controls. This finding is consistent with that of prior studies (Bitsakou et al, 2009; Luman et al, 2005; Marco et al, 2009; Martinelli et al, 2017; Mies et al, 2018; Mokobane, Pillay, Thobejane, & Meyer, 2020; Paloyelis et al, 2009; Patros et al, 2016; Van Dessel et al, 2018; Yu et al, 2018) which also suggests that children with ADHD show a strong preference for smaller-sooner rewards over larger-later rewards. Children with ADHD, therefore, made fewer responses on delayed rewards when compared to the controls.…”

“…Consistent with some studies (Mokobane, Pillay, Thobejane, & Meyer, 2020; Plichta et al, 2009; Sjöwall et al, 2013), this study did not detect gender differences in delay aversion, within the ADHD group. These results are in contradiction to those of Paloyelis et al (2009) who used a single delay task to demonstrate that delay aversion is more prevalent in males with ADHD than females.…”

“…However, Rosch and Mostofsky (2016) demonstrated that females with ADHD showed a preference for more, smaller immediate reward choices compared to males with ADHD. Other studies showed no gender (Mokobane, Pillay, Thobejane, & Meyer, 2020; Plichta et al, 2009) and age differences in delay aversion among children with ADHD (Bitsakou et al, 2009; Rosch et al, 2018; Wilson et al, 2011).…”

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Quick Delay Questionnaire (C-QDQ) and ecological characteristics of reward-delay impulsivity of adults with ADHD

“…The TCIP (a modified version of the task reported in [ 39 ], see also [ 40 ]) is a nonverbal computer-based task that measures participant preference for SS or LL rewards. Use of this task has been verified in a series of adult samples [ 41 ].…”