Reaction time indices of attention deficits in boys with disruptive behavior disorders

Attention in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been studied, but there is still no agreement as to the nature of the deficits that have been found. Two experiments were designed to test reaction time (RT) in boys with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD), a more general heading under which boys with ADHD may be classified. Not all boys with DBD meet the full criteria for ADHD, but those with ADHD can be said to have DBD as well. Subjects included 31 boys with an average age of 11.5 years, and 30 controls with an average age of 12.5 years. On a warned RT task, in which subjects were told to depress a key when a light turned on and to release it as quickly as possible when the tone sounded (the light warned of the imminence of the tone), boys with DBD had slower reaction times than controls and the times were more variable across trials. Results of experiment two, when no warning was given, also showed that DBD subjects performed more poorly than controls, but analysis proved inconsistent and depended upon methods of analysis used. In general, these experiments lend support to the theory that DBD subjects have slower and more variable RTs than controls, even when age and IQ were controlled. Other studies have shown that ADHD children do not have particularly slow processing times, therefore slowness in voluntary motor response may be an influential factor. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)