ABSTRACT
This study examined the efficacy of discrete versus global measures of executive functioning in children with different levels of emotional conditions. Fifty-seven male students were administered the Wisconsin Card Sort Test, the Category Test, and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF). Only the BRIEF variables of Emotional Control and Shifting Attention were statistically significant variables for students with severe emotional conditions. The relationships between attentional control, emotional regulation, and higher-level problem-solving skills were discussed in the context of discrete versus global measures of executive functioning in children with emotional conditions.
Subject(s)
Affective Symptoms/psychology , Mental Processes , Social Behavior Disorders/psychology , Affective Symptoms/diagnosis , Attention , Child , Emotions , Humans , Male , Problem Solving , Psychological Tests , Social Behavior Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
This study assessed the presence of internalizing psychological problems in 9- to 11-year-old males diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The participants' raw scores on the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) Parent Scale, Teacher Rating Scale, and Self-Report of Personality (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992) along with the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (Reynolds & Richmond, 1985) were compared to the normative sample for each respective measure. The results found that ADHD children presented with significantly (p <.05) higher levels of both anxiety and depression on the BASC and anxiety on the RCMAS when ratings were completed by parents, teachers, and self-report. The results were discussed in terms of the comorbidity of internalizing disorders with ADHD children and need to consider differential behavioral and medical intervention.
