Dataset Information

Do Preschoolers' Neuropsychological Functioning and Hyperactivity/Inattention Predict Social Functioning Trajectories Through Childhood?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This longitudinal study examined whether preschool attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and neuropsychological functioning predicted trajectories of children's social functioning from age 3 to 4 through 12 years.

Methods

Three- and four-year-old children (N = 208; 72.6% boys) were evaluated annually through age 12. Parent and teacher Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale, Fourth Edition responses during the initial evaluation were used to categorize preschoolers as "High" or "Low" risk for ADHD. Children's neuropsychological functioning was assessed using the NEPSY. Teachers' reports of children's social functioning were obtained annually from preschool through age 12 years using the Adaptability, Functional Communication, and Social Skills subscales of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to assess the trajectories of social functioning and determine whether preschoolers' neuropsychological functioning and ADHD risk status predicted social functioning at age 12 years, and/or change in social functioning throughout childhood. All models controlled for baseline socioeconomic status.

Results

High Risk children had significantly lower teacher-rated Adaptability and Social Skills at age 12 years. High Risk children and those with lower Verbal neuropsychological functioning in preschool had lower teacher-rated Functional Communication at 12 years old. Lower preschool Verbal neuropsychological functioning predicted greater positive change in teacher-rated Functional Communication across childhood.

Conclusions

Early identification of and intervention for children exhibiting ADHD behaviors is critical given the enduring negative impact of these behaviors on social functioning. Screening preschoolers for verbal difficulties is encouraged given their long-term impact on children's ability to clearly express thoughts and feelings and obtain and provide information.

SUBMITTER: Karlsberg Bennett J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7381190 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundSluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is distinct from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattention (ADHD-IN) and concurrently associated with a range of impairment domains. However, few longitudinal studies have examined SCT as a longitudinal predictor of adjustment. Studies to date have all used a relatively short longitudinal time span (6 months to 2 years) and only rating scale measures of adjustment. Using a prospective, multi-method design, this study examined whether SCT and ADHD-IN were differentially associated with functioning over a 10-year period between preschool and the end of ninth grade.MethodsLatent state-trait modeling determined the trait variance (i.e. consistency across occasions) of SCT and ADHD-IN across four measurement points (preschool and the end of kindergarten, first grade, and second grade) in a large population-based longitudinal sample (N = 976). Regression analyses were used to examine trait SCT and ADHD-IN factors in early childhood as predictors of functioning at the end of ninth grade (i.e. parent ratings of psychopathology and social/academic functioning, reading and mathematics academic achievement scores, processing speed and working memory).ResultsBoth SCT and ADHD-IN contained more trait variance (Ms = 65% and 61%, respectively) than occasion-specific variance (Ms = 35% and 39%) in early childhood, with trait variance increasing as children progressed from preschool through early elementary school. In regression analyses: (a) SCT significantly predicted greater withdrawal and anxiety/depression whereas ADHD-IN did not uniquely predict these internalizing domains; (b) ADHD-IN uniquely predicted more externalizing behaviors whereas SCT uniquely predicted fewer externalizing behaviors; (c) SCT uniquely predicted shyness whereas both SCT and ADHD-IN uniquely predicted global social difficulties; and (d) ADHD-IN uniquely predicted poorer math achievement and slower processing speed whereas SCT more consistently predicted poorer reading achievement.ConclusionsFindings of this study - from the longest prospective sample to date - provide the clearest evidence yet that SCT and ADHD-IN often differ when it comes to the functional outcomes they predict.