Association between Executive Functions and Time Perspectives in Patients with Adults Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association between executive functions and time perspectives in patients with adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The executive function including self-management to time, self-organization/problem solving, self-restraint or inhibition, self-motivation, and self-regulation of emotion was analyzed. In addition, the time perspective, including past-negative, past-positive, present-hedonistic, present-fatalistic, future-negative, and future-positive, were investigated. The correlations between the executive functions and time perspectives were analyzed in an adult ADHD patient group. METHODS: Thirty-six participants were divided into 17 in the ADHD group and 19 in the Control group. The participants conduct psychological tests including Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS), ADHD Self-Report Scale, and the Swedish Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory to confirm their executive functions, attention, and time perspectives. The participants were recruited at Samsung Medical Center from April 2017 to November 2018. The collected data was analyzed using a t-test and Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: The adult ADHD patients group showed significantly higher scores in the BDEFS and ADHD Self-Report Scale than the control group. In time perspective scores, the adult ADHD patients group was higher in the past-negative, present-hedonistic, present-fatalistic time perspectives than the control group. In addition, the adult ADHD patients group was lower in future-positive than the control group. In the adult ADHD patients group, the future-positive time perspectives were negatively correlated with the executive functions. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the negative time perspective is related to the executive function deficits in an adult ADHD group, particularly in the self-management of time, self-organization/problem solving, and self-motivation.

History of childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among adult substance users in selected drug rehabilitation centers: A descriptive study

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the prevalence of ADHD among substance users in selected rehabilitation centers admitted from September 1,2008 to October 31,2008 using the Wender-Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS).METHODOLOGY: A total of 104 recovering adult substance users (CI 95%) from rehabilitation centers were included by purposive sampling. They were then asked to answer an information set and subsequently WURS & ASRS was administered, either self-administered or clinician-assisted.RESULTS: In this study, the prevalence of childhood ADHD among adult substance users using WURS was 23.1%. Of the 80 (77.1%) who didn't reach the cut-off score of 46, twenty-one subjects (20.2%) had WURS scores between 39-45 may have possible ADHD. About 29 (27.9%) subjects showed adult symptoms of ADHD. However, substance users with atypical depression and borderline personality disorder were not screened out and may account for false positive results.CONCLUSION: About 1/3 of substance users in the study were positive for ADHD using the WURS while 1/5 of those studied had possible ADHD, needing further investigation.