Relations between response trajectories on the continuous performance test and teacher-rated problem behaviors in preschoolers.

Abstract

Although both the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and behavior rating scales are used in both practice and research to assess inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behaviors, the correlations between performance on the CPT and teachers' ratings are typically only small-to-moderate. This study examined trajectories of performance on a low target-frequency visual CPT in a sample of preschool children and how these trajectories were associated with teacher-ratings of problem behaviors (i.e., inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity [H/I], and oppositional/defiant behavior). Participants included 399 preschool children (Mean age = 56 months; 49.4% female; 73.7% White/Caucasian). An ADHD-rating scale was completed by teachers, and the CPT was completed by the preschoolers. Results showed that children's performance across four temporal blocks on the CPT was not stable across the duration of the task, with error rates generally increasing from initial to later blocks. The predictive relations of teacher-rated problem behaviors to performance trajectories on the CPT were examined using growth curve models. Higher rates of teacher-reported inattention and H/I were uniquely associated with higher rates of initial omission errors and initial commission errors, respectively. Higher rates of teacher-reported overall problem behaviors were associated with increasing rates of omission but not commission errors during the CPT; however, the relation was not specific to one type of problem behavior. The results of this study indicate that the pattern of errors on the CPT in preschool samples is complex and may be determined by multiple behavioral factors. These findings have implications for the interpretation of CPT performance in young children. KeywordsContinuous Performance Test; Teacher-Ratings; Inattention; Hyperactivity/Impulsivity; Oppositional Defiant Behaviors Behavioral rating forms and cognitive tasks, such as continuous performance tests (CPTs), are two methods that are used in both research and applied settings for assessing children's Inquiries concerning this work can be sent to either Darcey Allan (dallan@psy.fsu.edu) or Christopher J. Lonigan (lonigan@psy.fsu.edu), Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call Street, Tallahassee FL 32306-4301. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (H/I). Although these methods presumably measure the same underlying constructs, the correlations between behavior ratings and CPT performance are typically small (Egeland, Johansen, & Ueland, 2009;McGee, Clark, & Symons, 2000). The reasons for these weak relations are unclear. Research explicating the specific ways in which direct measures and behavior-ratings of problem behaviors do and do not converge is needed to provide a stronger foundation for the use of these measures to operationalize inattention and H/I. Such research may be used to guide the valid use of the CPT in both clinical practice and research.To d...

Living in the Fast Lane: Evidence for a Global Perceptual Timing Deficit in Childhood ADHD Caused by Distinct but Partially Overlapping Task-Dependent Cognitive Mechanisms

“…These findings might be explained by recent research demonstrating correlations between performance in the digit span and the digit span backwards task which is accompanied by neurofunctional overlap during tasks performance, showing that these functions are not completely functionally segregated from each other (Yang et al, 2015 ). Additionally, we found CPT omission errors as a measure of inattention (Allan and Lonigan, 2015 ) to positively predict the time production absolute error which was elevated in children with ADHD in our study. The dysfunctional mechanism here could be disruptions in counting by losing the train of thought, which has been clinically observed but not systematically evaluated in some of the children who participated in our study.…”

Using a multidimensional model of attention to predict low‐income preschoolers’ early academic skills across time

“…Recall that Steele and colleagues (2012) found that an executive attention factor predicted concurrent math and pre‐literacy skills in 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds but only a selective/sustained attention factor predicted math one year later. Allan and Lonigan (2015) found no relation between a sustained attention factor derived from CPT performance and early school readiness skills. Future research is needed to clarify whether these different patterns are related to socioeconomic factors, different rates of maturation in attention skills, or even variability in the measures of early math and pre‐literacy.…”

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Neuropsychological Predictors of ODD Symptom Dimensions in Young Children

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