Contribution of predispositional factors to the diagnosis of hyperactivity

A Follow up Study of Young Hyperactive Children

Hyperactive children first diagnosed as toddlers were followed up into the early school years. When Compared with matched normal children the hyperactives showed clear problems in behaviour temperament, and cognitive development, at the time of first assessment. After two follow-up assessments at 5 and 6 years of age the only differences remaining between the groups were those involving hyperactive and conduct problem behaviour and a difficult temperament profile. Academic progress was normal although this may have been influenced by sample attrition where lower I.Q. children dropped out. Hyperactive children remained at risk for behavioural problems at home and at school.

Child temperament, ADHD, and caregiver strain: exploring relationships in an epidemiological sample

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between child-reported dimensions of temperament and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as other indicators of child psychopathology, including disruptive disorders, depression, and anxiety. It also examined whether difficult child temperament scores independently predicted caregiver strain.

METHOD

A school-district-wide, two-phase screening design (response rate 70% for phase 2) identified elementary school children at high risk for ADHD. Two hundred high-risk children and their parents completed standardized instruments to assess child temperament, diagnoses of disruptive disorders, children's symptoms of anxiety and depression, and caregiver strain. Relationships were examined using analysis of variance, correlations, and multivariate prediction models, adjusting for child sociodemographic characteristics and psychopathology. All estimates were weighted for sampling design and differential participation.

RESULTS

Combined subtype ADHD was associated with lower scores on task orientation and higher scores on general activity level. Depressive symptoms correlated significantly with all but one difficult temperament dimension, in a pattern consistent with clinical symptoms of depression. Child temperament did not vary by ADHD treatment status. Among these high-risk children, maternal caregiver strain experiences were increased by male gender, inattention symptoms, and oppositional defiant disorder, but not by difficult temperament scores.

CONCLUSION

This study provides support for Graham and Stevenson's hypothesis of continuity between specific temperament traits and certain child psychiatric disorders, namely ADHD and depressive disorders.

Pattern and progression of drug use among hyperactives and controls: a prospective short-term longitudinal study

The pattern and progression in drug use across a 1-year interval was investigated for 54 hyperactives and 47 controls aged 13-18. Initiation and use rates between groups at Time 1 and Time 2 also were studied. Patterns of drug usage differed slightly between hyperactives and controls, with the hyperactives showing greater involvement with cigarettes. As well, the data for progression in use across the 1-year interval showed that hyperactives were by-and-large less predictable than controls in the progression of their drug use. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.