Production deficiencies in free recall: A comparison of hyperactive,learning-disabled,and normal children

Free recall of weakly categorizable words was compared in hyperactive (ADDH), reading-disabled, and normal boys. During a baseline trial, hyperactive boys recalled fewer words and showed less category organization than both reading-disabled and normal boys. Following a manipulation designed to encourage semantic encoding of words, hyperactive boys showed an immediate improvement in item recall and organization so that their free-recall performance was similar to that of reading-disabled and normal children. During later trials of a multiple-trial format, hyperactive boys recalled fewer words than did the reading-disabled and normal boys, despite maintaining equality in category organization. Rather than lacking the skill to use semantic organization as a strategy in free recall, hyperactive boys had difficulty in spontaneously generating the organizational strategy in response to instructions to remember and sustaining sufficient effort to task completion.     

A psychosocial study of hyperactive and learning-disabled boys

Adequately reading hyperactive boys, normally behaved learning-disabled (LD) boys, and normal controls were contrasted on tests measuring personality traits, cognitive role taking, and moral reasoning. Additionally, parents and teachers rated all children on a number of behaviors, and parents were interviewed in a process-oriented fashion to assess home stimulation potential. Hyperactive boys were rated more aggressive and anxious than LD boys and controls and had not been encouraged as much by parents to achieve. Hyperactives had been born to younger parents, on the average, and 25% lived with their mothers and stepfathers. None of the LD or control boys had stepfathers. The groups did not differ significantly in moral reasoning ability, cognitive role taking, or locus of control; on the Junior Personality Inventory hyperactives tended to have elevated scores on the neuroticism scale while LD boys had higher scores on the lie scale.This research was supported by Grant HDNS-09119 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.     

Physiological correlates of conduct problems and anxiety in hyperactive and learning-disabled children

Thirtysix learning disabled children (21 of whom were also classified as hyperactive) were subgrouped according to teacher ratings of tension-anxiety and conduct problems and then compared on measures of tonic and phasic autonomic arousal. The results indicated that children rated high on the conduct problem dimension evidenced smaller amplitude specific skin conductance responses, and that anxiety appeared to exert a moderating effect on physiological responses. When the hyperactive sample was considered separately, lower skin conductance levels were observed in children rated high on conduct problems than in hyperactive children rated low in conduct problems. These findings support the notion that hyperactive and learning-disabled children are heterogeneous at a physiological level and suggest that physiological differences previously attributed to hyperactivity may actually be correlates of the conduct problem dimension.     

A comparison of behavioral and emotional functioning in children and adolescents with Autistic Disorder and PDD-NOS.

Behavioral symptomatology was compared in 26 children and adolescents with Autistic Disorder ("autism") and 25 children and adolescents with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified ("PDD-NOS"). Relative to individuals with PDD-NOS, those with autism had more symptoms of depression, social withdrawal, atypical behavior, and immature social skills--and fewer family problems. These differences remained even when group differences in intellectual ability were statistically controlled. No group differences emerged in somatization, anxiety, or hyperactivity. Findings suggest that although both groups demonstrate considerable evidence of behavioral and emotional problems, those with autism are at particularly high risk for comorbid behavioral and emotional disabilities.     

Evaluation of behavioral group counseling for parents of learning-disabled children

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a behavioral group counseling program for parent members of the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. Twentytwo mothers were assigned to two treatment groups (N=5 and N=6) and a control group (N=11). Treatment-group mothers received a series of eight weekly 11/2-hour sessions in which they were taught basic principles and procedures of behavior modification which they could apply to specific childrearing problems. Multiplesuccess criteria (maternal reports, direct observation, frequency counts, and attitudinal measures) were employed to provide a broad-based measurement of outcome. Results indicated that treatment ratings of childrens' conduct and disruption and parental postbehavioral observations of mother-child interactions showed improvement for the behavioral-counseling groups while control-group ratings and behavior observations remained the same. All treatment-group changes were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Consistency of treatment-group data across measures and over time suggests the effectiveness of this approach as a training method. Implications for future research were discussed.     

A comparison of objective measures of activity and distractibility in hyperactive and nonhyperactive children

In a 15-minute free-play and a 5-minute test session, 13 measures of activity, distractibility, and parental ratings of activity were obtained on three groups of children, consisting of 16 boys referred to a psychological services center for evaluation of possible hyperactivity, 16 referred to that same center for problems other than hyperactivity, and 20 obtained from the local community. Subjects were boys with average intelligence between the ages of 4 and 12 years. Results indicated that the multiple measures of activity and distractibility had significant but relatively low order correlations among themselves. These relationships varied as a function of the subject group. However, there was no sonsistent relationship between the measures of activity and distractibility. The pattern of relationships obtained suggested that both activity level and distractibility are not homogeneous, unidimensional constructs. Results also indicated that boys referred for hyperactivity displayed greater wrist activity in free play, tended to display greater ankle activity in free play, had significantly correlated wrist and ankle activity, and were rated by their parents as more active than other children. This pattern suggested a global restlessness in children referred for hyperactivity that distinguishes them from other children.     

An analysis of the hyperactive syndrome: A comparison of hyperactive,behavior problem,asthmatic, and normal children

In an attempt to determine whether the commonly described deficits associated with hyperactivity — inappropriate activity, short attention span, low frustration tolerance, and impulsivity — are unique to this population, hyperactive, behavior problem, asthmatic, and normal control children were studied. The tests most often used in research with hyperactives were administered. Hyperactives, when compared to normals, did show deficits in the aforementioned areas. However, when compared to the behavior problem and asthmatic children only the attentional deficits clearly differentiated hyperactives from the other children.This research was supported, in part, by grants from the Ontario Ministry of Health (DM-304) and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (#652-76A).     

A developmental study of vigilance in learning-disabled and nondisabled children

To test the proposition that learning-disabled children manifest a sustained attentional deficit, the Continuous Performance Test was administered to learningdisabled and nondisabled children at three age levels. Children were tested on three task lengths (5, 10, and 15 minutes) and two modalities (auditory and visual) in which dependent measures were correct detections and false responses, d′ and B values. As expected, learning-disabled children made fewer correct detections and more false responses and were less sensitive (d') to critical stimuli than were nondisabled children at all ages. There was also evidence to indicate that learningdisabled children apply different response criteria across age when compared to nondisabled children. B values varied significantly across age, group, modality, and time on task; d′ remained relatively unchanged across time periods. The popular notion that learning-disabled and younger subjects start a vigilance task with the same capacity as nondisabled older children but show a decline in attention as time on task increases was not supported.     

A comparison of the reliability and validity of the standard MFF and MFF20 with learning-disabled children

A direct comparison was made of the reliability and validity of the standard Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) to a recent longer version of the task (MFF20). Subjects comprised two samples of learning-disabled children, matched on age, sex, IQ, and SES. The Salkind and Wright (1977) formulation was used to generate continuous data, and IQ was statistically controlled. Internal reliability estimates showed the MFF20 to be more consistent that the standard version on both error and latency scores. Validity was addressed by comparing the two versions of the task in their ability to predict cognitive and behavioral skills of conceptual relevance to impulsivity. Results indicated that the MFF20 is a more sensitive predictor of academic achievement and attention as observed in a natural setting than is the standard version of the task.This study was supported by a contract (300-77-0495) from the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, Office of Education, for the University of Virginia Learning Disabilities Research Institute. The authors would like to express appreciation to the school officials who generously assisted in the present study: Elizabeth Bailey, Thomas Cox, Charles Dempsey, Julian King.     

A behavioral observation method for differentiating hyperactive and aggressive boys

This study employed a playroom observation technique to examine the behavioral differences between hyperactive and aggressive boys. Subjects were clinic-referred boys assigned to Hyperactive, Aggressive, or Hyperactive plus Aggressive goups on the basis of behavior checklists and ratings of psychiatric chart information. While significant discrimination was obtained in all three settings (free play, restricted play, and restricted academic), behavioral differences among the subject groups were most pronounced during the restricted academic period. Discriminant function analysis for the restricted academic period resulted in accurate classification of 86% of the subjects as hyperactive, aggressive, or hyperactive plus aggressive. The present findings suggest that children with externalizing disorders can be distinguished in light of their observed clinic behavior in the restricted academic setting.This was conducted as part of the author's dissertation. The author wishes to express thanks to Jan Loney, Richard Milich, and Richard Roberts for their assistance in completion of this study and preparation of this article.     

Visual and auditory attention performance in hyperactive children: Competence or compliance

The effect of self-control and compliance on the attentional performance of hyperactive children was assessed. Visual and auditory attention tasks were presented in conditions in which the experimenter was either absent and therefore not imposing external control, or present and therefore imposing some degree of control. There was no difference in performance between hyperactives and controls when the experimenter was present, but the hyperactives' performance showed a greater deterioration than controls when the experimenter was absent. The amount of movement displayed during the tasks was greater for hyperactives and increased more for this group during experimenter-absent conditions. The results support the contention that noncompliance is a major contributor to the poor performance of hyperactive children, which can be seen as an application deficit rather than an ability deficit. These findings have relevance for the current debate on the association between hyperactivity and conduct disorder, and from an applied perspective they serve to stress the importance of situational contributors to the problem behaviors of hyperactive children.     

Maternal positive parenting style is associated with better functioning in hyperactive/inattentive preschool children

Many preschoolers are highly inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive; but only some are impaired in their functioning. Yet factors leading to functional impairment, above and beyond the severity of inattentive and hyperactive symptoms, have not been systematically examined. This study examined a model suggesting that after controlling for attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom severity, child temperament is uniquely associated with parenting stress; that parenting stress affects parenting style, above and beyond child characteristics; that parenting style is related to the level of child impairment, above and beyond the effects of child symptoms, temperament, and parenting stress; and finally that parenting style moderates the relationship between ADHD symptom severity and child functioning. Child measures included parent‐ and teacher‐rated ADHD symptom severity, teacher‐rated temperament, and clinician‐rated functioning in a sample of 138 inattentive/hyperactive preschoolers. Maternal self‐ratings of parenting style and parenting stress were obtained. Analyses indicated that, after controlling for symptom severity, child temperament was related to maternal parenting stress, which was additionally related to both maternal parenting style and child functioning. Maternal positive parenting style moderated the relationship between ADHD symptom severity and child impairment, indicating that a positive parenting style plays a protective role in the functioning of hyperactive/inattentive preschoolers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attaining and maintaining preparation: A comparison of attention in hyperactive,normal, and disturbed control children

The hypothesis that hyperactive children have a deficit in sustained attention was investigated. Eighteen children who had attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), aged 7 to 11 years, were compared with children who had conduct disorder (n = 15), mixed conduct disorder and ADDH (n = 26), emotional disorder (n = 18), or learning disability (n = 22), and with normal controls (n = 15). The subjects were tested on three versions of the Continuous Performance Task. Sustained attention was assessed from performance with increasing time on task and from ability to prepare attention in response to a warning. Performance of all subjects deteriorated with increasing time and improved with the opportunity to prepare attention. Hyperactive subjects were not more adversely affected by increasing time, nor did they benefit less than controls from the opportunity to prepare attention. Data reanalysis after rediagnosis according to ICD-9 criteria did not change the results. This study did not confirm the hypothesis that hyperactive children have a unique sustained attention deficit.     

The interplay among temperament,neuropsychological abilities,and global functioning in young hyperactive/inattentive children

Cognition and emotion have been shown to interact and influence psychological functioning. However, to date these interactions have only been examined cross‐sectionally among inattentive and/or hyperactive/impulsive children. This study investigated the moderating effects of neuropsychological functioning at age 3–4 years on the relation between negative emotionality at age 3–4 years and global functioning 1 year later, at age 4–5 years. Hyperactive/inattentive (H/I; n = 114) preschoolers entered the study (BL: baseline) and were seen again 1 year later (F1). Children's BL scores on a neuropsychological test (NEPSY) and their temperament as rated by parents (Child Behavior Questionnaire) and teachers (Temperament Assessment Battery for Children‐Revised) were obtained, as were clinicians’ ratings of their global functioning (Children's Global Assessment Scale) at F1. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that BL temperament variables accounted for significant variance in F1 Global Functioning. Significant interactions indicated that higher Verbal Executive abilities were associated with better child functioning when parent‐rated Effortful Control was high, but not when Effortful Control was low. Additionally, high levels of Nonverbal Executive skills were associated with higher child global functioning when both parent‐ and teacher‐rated negative affect was low, but not when negative affect was high.     

Information processing and speech lateralization in learning-disabled children

The relationship between information processing and speech lateralization was investigated in learning-disabled children. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) assessed simultaneous and successive processing while a dichotic listening paradigm with free recall and directed attention conditions assessed speech lateralization. A three-factor ANOVA design conducted on the dichotic data revealed that normal children demonstrated stronger right ear advantage (REA); whereas learning-disabled showed weaker right ear advantage. Further, lambda analyses conducted on individual subjects revealed that the learning-disabled did not demonstrate the REA, were not biased attenders, and did not get more right ear than left ear items when attention was directed to one ear. Multiple-regression analysis was used to predict sequential processing from the dichotic data for both groups. Learning-disabled children demonstrated a substantial deficit in sequential processing as compared to normal children. These results indicate that learning-disabled children may not have adequate cerebral lateralization of receptive speech processes, shift their attention more readily, and are more inadequate in sequential processing that presumably subserves language functioning. Perhaps learning-disabled children have deficiencies of processor capacity of salient areas of the left (language) hemisphere.     

A categorical analysis of the social attributions of learning-disabled children

The social attributions of learning-disabled and control children with either similar or higher social acceptance ratings were assessed within an open-ended interview format. In addition, measures of social self-esteem and expectation of social success were obtained. The learning-disabled group used luck more frequently and personality interaction less frequently as explanations for social outcomes than did the other two groups. Learning-disabled children also had the lowest expectation of social success and, like the low acceptance group, had a poorer social self-image. Possible explanations for the development of these attributions and the implications for holding them were discussed.     

A comparison of short-term memory tests as predictors of reading achievement for learning-disabled and educable mentally retarded students

Poor performance' on short-term memory (STM) tasks has been associated with reading difficulties. However, little research has been devoted to delineating the STM tests that best predict this relationship. To gain insight into the relative efficacy of different STM tests to predict reading achievement, nine measures of STM frequently used by school psychologists were examined with a group of learning-disabled (n = 48) and educable mentally retarded (n = 34) students. The factor structure underlying the STM tasks was also investigated. The results indicated that not all of the STM tasks were significant (p < .05) predictors of reading. Stepwise regression analyses indicated that a sentence memory task was the best predictor for the learning-disabled students, whereas a letter sequences task was the best predictor of reading for the educable students. Factor analysis indicated that a language factor (auditory/verbal) and a non-verbal factor (visual/spatial) were the major components underlying performance on the STM measures. These findings were discussed in the context of the prediction of reading as a function of diagnostic group and the task structure of the STM tests.