| dc.description | Examined social information processing (SIP), aggression use, and the effects of methylphenidate (Ritalm) on these constructs in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Study 1 examined SIP in a sample of 83 children (62 boys, 21 girls) aged 6 to 12 years, including 49 children with ADHD and 34 controls. Children were shown a series of scenarios depicting peer interactions and asked to (a) interpret each scenario and (b) generate possible responses to the scenario. All children interpreted provocation scenarios in a more hostile manner than entry scenarios and generated more hostile responses to provocation scenarios than to entry scenarios. Children in the methylphenidate group generated more hostile responses to provocation scenarios than controls. Study 2 examined the hostile/instrumental and reactive/proactive aggression dichotomies in the same sample. Children participated in a laboratory aggression task that included hostile, instrumental, reactive, and proactive aggression conditions along with instances of low and high provocation from an imaginary opponent. All children engaged in more reactive aggression in the instrumental condition than in the hostile condition and following high provocation. Children in the placebo and control groups were more reactively aggressive than children in the methylphenidate group in the hostile condition. Children in the control group were more reactively aggressive than children in the methylphenidate group following low provocation. Children engaged in more proactive aggression in the instrumental condition than in the hostile condition. Aggression dissipated over the last six trials of the task, except in the hostile condition, where children in the methylphenidate group showed increased aggression. However, these children started with lower levels of aggression and ended at the same point as children in the other groups. Results suggest that (a) children with ADHD may have similar SIP skills to their typically developing peers, (b) children with ADHD may be motivated to use aggression based on saliency of potential rewards and presence of threat; and (c) methylphenidate must be used cautiously in aggressive children, as the drug appears to increase aggression use in situations in which a threat is present. Limitations and future directions are discussed. | en_US |
