Proprioceptive Indicators of Personality and Individual Differences in Behavior in Children With ADHD

Abstract

Researchers have suggested that the link between personality traits and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) could be a crucial factor in understanding the disorder’s diatheses. The aim of our study was to contribute to research on personality differences (based on fine motor precision – a novel approach) in children with and without ADHD symptoms. The Children Sustained Attention Task (CSAT) and Proprioceptive Diagnostics of Temperament and Character (DP-TC) were administered to children with an ADHD diagnosis and age-matched controls. Correlational and ANOVA analyses were performed to see the association between the results of both tests and the groups’ performance. Correlational analysis suggests significant relationships between some personality dimensions (DP-TC) and correct detection in a sustained attention task (CSAT). Statistically significant differences were found between the groups on the personality dimensions (DP-TC), with the following characteristics for ADHD children: (a) temperamental tendency to pessimism; (b) high temperamental excitability; (c) high Emotionality, and (d) Behavioral Rigidity (meaning also less adaptation to changes in the environment, in temperament and character). Correct detection in the sustained attention test was significantly correlated with reaction time and the personality variables Style of Attention and Irritability. The results also showed high proprioceptive Emotionality and lack of emotional control in children with ADHD. This is an exploratory study, investigating for the first time the differences in personality (based on fine motor precision) and the relation of personality traits to scores in sustained attention for children with and without ADHD.

Fine Motor Precision Tasks: Sex Differences in Performance with and without Visual Guidance across Different Age Groups

“…Revising further recent research, some findings are unclear or even contradictory in relation to sex differences and motor precision, velocity, and asymmetry and these parameters seem to be age-related. In both, primary school (8)(9)(10)(11)(12) and high school students (15)(16)(17)(18), girls showed prevalence in handwriting short copy tasks vs. boys, while in another longitudinal study (7)(8)(9)(10)(11), copywriting tasks did not reveal any significant sex differences [14]. A male advantage in motor learning rather than in motor performance was found in male adolescents compared to female adolescents [14].…”

“…Thus, the complexity of comparing the results obtained by different studies consists not only of the important factor of age, as shown by the above literature review, but also of other aspects, such as the type of tasks and sensory conditions used in those tests. Sometimes, other factors can also influence fine motor performance in men and women, such as socio-economical status [15], individual [16], and cultural differences [10] among others; these factors should be considered in interpretations whenever possible. In addition, the important role of proprioception for motor tasks and perception of space was observed in previous studies, together with the crucial role of the integrative system vision with proprioception [17].…”

Stress Resilience (Proprioceptive and Verbal Individual Differences) in Onco-Patients, Sportsmen and Controls

“…As other studies have shown, proprioceptive accuracy of fine motor movements is agedependent, deteriorating during adolescence (up to 18 years old) and gradually decreasing after 50 years old due to aging processes [11]. Individual differences in fine motor accuracy are important indicators of health and may be associated with various conditions such as Parkinson's disease [12], adaptation to stress in sportsmen [13], adaptation to stress in cancer patients [1], and children with ADHD [14,15].…”

Fine Motor Precision Tasks: Sex Differences in Performance with and without Visual Guidance across Different Age Groups

“…The complexity of comparing the results obtained by different studies consists not only of the important factor of age, as shown by the above literature review, but also of other aspects, such as the type of tasks and sensory conditions used in tests. Sometimes, other factors can influence also on fine motor performance in men and women, such as socio-economical status [3], individual [4] and cultural differences [5] among others; and should be considered in interpretations if it is possible. The important role of proprioception for motor tasks and perception of space was Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 15 November 2019 doi:10.20944/preprints201911.0168.v1…”