Sluggish Cognitive Tempo is Associated With Poorer Study Skills, More Executive Functioning Deficits, and Greater Impairment in College Students

Abstract

Objectives Few studies have examined sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) in college students even though extant research suggests a higher prevalence rate of SCT symptoms in this population compared to general adult or youth samples. The current study examined SCT symptoms in relation to two domains related to college student’s academic success, study skills and daily life executive functioning (EF), as well as specific domains of functional impairment. Method 158 undergraduate students (Mage=19.05 years; 64% female) completed measures of psychopathology symptoms, study skills, daily life EF, and functional impairment. Results After controlling for demographics and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and depression, SCT remained significantly associated with poorer study skills, greater daily life EF deficits, and global impairment, as well as greater functional impairment in the specific domains of educational activities, work, money/finances, managing chores and household tasks, community activities, and social situations with strangers and with friends. In many instances, ADHD inattentive symptoms were no longer significantly associated with study skills or impairment after SCT symptoms were added to the model. Conclusion SCT is associated with poorer college student functioning. Findings highlight the need for increased specificity in studies examining the relation between SCT and adjustment.

Sluggish cognitive tempo in adults: Psychometric validation of the Adult Concentration Inventory.

“…Since SCT is increasingly conceptualized as falling under the internalizing umbrella of psychopathology (Becker et al, 2013; Lee, Burns, Beauchaine, & Becker, 2016), we expected that SCT would be independently associated with poorer socio-emotional adjustment in adults (Becker, Langberg, et al, 2014; Jarrett et al, 2017; Leikauf & Solanto, 2017; Wood et al, 2017). We also expected to replicate findings from smaller college student studies that found SCT to be uniquely related to both daily life EF deficits and functional impairment above and beyond ADHD symptoms (Flannery, Luebbe et al, 2016; Wood et al, 2017). In terms of specific EF domains, we tentatively hypothesized that ADHD-IN would be more strongly associated than SCT with the self-motivation and time-management EF domains whereas SCT would be more strongly associated than ADHD with the self-regulation of emotion domain (Barkley, 2012; Jarrett et al, 2017; Leikauf & Solanto, 2017).…”

Sluggish cognitive tempo and personality: Links to BIS/BAS sensitivity and the five factor model

“…To date, studies have found SCT to be most clearly associated with increased internalizing symptoms (especially depression) and social isolation/withdrawal, and a growing number of studies also document associations between SCT symptoms and academic difficulties (Barkley, 2014; Becker & Barkley, 2018; Becker et al, 2016). In college students specifically, research has found SCT to be associated with greater overall functional impairment and increased daily life executive functioning deficits (Flannery, Luebbe, et al, 2016; Wood, Lewandowski, et al, 2017), emotion dysregulation (Flannery, Becker, et al, 2016), suicide risk (Becker, Holdaway, et al, 2018), and poorer academic-related functioning including poorer study skills, deficits in self-regulation learning strategies, self-reported difficulty on timed reading tasks, and lower self-reported grades (Becker, Langberg, et al, 2014; Flannery, Luebbe, et al, 2016; Shelton et al, 2017; Wood, Potts, et al, 2017). However, one domain that remains almost entirely unexamined is personality.…”

Validation of a new study skills scale to provide an explanation for depressive symptoms among medical students

“…A Medline search using the key words [(Health Occupations Students OR medical students) AND Study Skills AND Depression] yielded 65 articles, but only three studies were relevant. The first was among adolescent students and studied “sluggish cognitive tempo” rather than depression [ 18 ], and the other two studies were on the impact of a self-development coaching program on medical and dental students’ psychological health and academic performance. None of these studies discussed the relationship between study skills and depression [ 19 , 20 ].…”