Underlying processes in the poor response inhibition of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Full Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of reward, punishment, and reward + punishment on the impulsive responses of ADHD children. The impulsive responses of ADHD and normal control boys (30 per group) were compared during performance of a go/no-go task, administered under reward-only, punishment-only, and reward + punishment conditions. When differences in aggression, anxiety, and IQ between these groups were controlled for, results indicated that the impulsivity levels of the ADHD group were higher than the control group in all three reinforcement conditions. Also, the ADHD group was more impulsive in the reward + punishment condition, compared to the reward-only and punishment-only conditions, and there was no difference between the reward-only and punishment-only conditions. The control groups showed no difference across the three reinforcement conditions. These findings raise the possibility that the poor response inhibition of ADHD children may be related to both a generalized inhibitory deficit and a response modulation deficit.

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Author information

Author/s: Gomez, R (R);

Affiliation: University of Ballarat in Australia, Victoria, Australia. r.gomez(-atsign-)ballarat.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of attention disorders (J Atten Disord), published in Canada. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Apr; vol 6 (issue 3) : pp 111-22

Dates: Created 2003/06/24; Completed 2003/10/03; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12821876, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Aggression - psychology
Anxiety - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology
Child
Humans
Impulse Control Disorders - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology
Inhibition (Psychology)

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