ABSTRACT
Research has suggested that many young adults can successfully feign ADHD, reporting clinically significant symptom levels and displaying deficits on cognitive tasks when asked to do so. Standalone performance validity tests (PVTs) have shown some success in identifying feigned ADHD, but these tests are rarely used in typical ADHD evaluation batteries. The present study attempted to develop embedded PVT indices from the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-IV). College students (N = 150) completed a battery including tasks from the WJ-IV, as well as an established standalone PVT and a rating scale measuring ADHD and related symptoms. Thirty of the students had been professionally diagnosed with ADHD; of the remaining 120 students, half were asked to perform honestly and to the best of their ability on the battery, whereas the other half were asked to try to simulate ADHD. Several processing speed and working memory scores from the WJ-IV effectively identified students feigning ADHD, detecting at least 50% of those students at score cutoffs that also maintained specificity of 90% or more, close to the efficiency of the standalone PVT. In addition, students with ADHD diagnoses generally did not show deficits on the WJ-IV. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Cognition , Humans , Malingering/diagnosis , Malingering/psychology , Neuropsychological Tests , Reproducibility of Results , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study examined symptom reports and neurocognitive outcomes in children (8-17 years) with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or orthopaedic injury (OI). METHOD: Children and parents were initially assessed upon presentation in the Emergency Department of a local hospital and again at 3 months. Children completed the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing battery (ImPACT) and parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 3rd edition (PPVT-III) was completed by the children at the 3-month assessment. RESULTS: Children with mTBI reported more symptoms than the OI group initially, but did not differ from the OI group at 3 months. Both groups reported a higher than expected number of symptoms at 3 months. On the ImPACT, children with mTBI performed significantly worse than the OI on a visual memory test at both assessments. The OI group had higher levels of parent-reported executive dysfunction on the BRIEF at initial and 3-month assessments. DISCUSSION: As expected, more post-concussion symptoms were initially reported by children and adolescents with mTBI vs orthopaedic injury, but there was no difference at 3 months. The BRIEF and ImPACT cognitive measures did not differentiate concussed subjects from controls, with the exception of concussed subjects' lower performance on a visual memory test at both initial assessment and at 3 months.
Subject(s)
Brain Concussion/physiopathology , Brain Concussion/psychology , Executive Function , Lower Extremity/injuries , Lower Extremity/physiopathology , Post-Concussion Syndrome/physiopathology , Post-Concussion Syndrome/psychology , Adolescent , Analysis of Variance , Brain Concussion/epidemiology , Child , Emergency Medical Services , Female , Glasgow Coma Scale , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Post-Concussion Syndrome/epidemiology , Prevalence , Prospective Studies , Recovery of Function , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time Factors , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of psychiatric comorbidity on social skill treatment outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). METHODS: A community sample of 83 children (74 males, 9 females) with an ASD (mean age = 9.5 yr; SD = 1.2) and common comorbid disorders participated in 10-week social skills training groups. The first 5 weeks of the group focused on conversation skills and the second 5 weeks focused on social problem solving skills. A concurrent parent group was also included in the treatment. Social skills were assessed using the Social Skills Rating System. Ratings were completed by parents at pre- and posttreatment time periods. RESULTS: Children with ASD and children with an ASD and comorbid anxiety disorder improved in their parent reported social skills. Children with ASD and comorbid attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder failed to improve. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric comorbidity affects social skill treatment gains in the ASD population.
