| dc.description | Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is a construct that some researchers believe may be extremely useful in terms of understanding the inattentive subtype of ADHD (e.g., Carlson & Mann, 2002), and perhaps even helping to define a completely new disorder (McBurnett, Pfiffner, & Frick, 2001). However the construct of SCT is as yet inadequately operationally or theoretically defined. A good measure of SCT needs to be created. The purpose of this research study was to develop a measure of SCT. The project was conducted in three parts. In Study 1, a group of experts were surveyed to refine a list of potential SCT items. In Study 2, questionnaires (completed by parents and teachers) were collected regarding a large sample of children (n = 336, ages 4-13). In Study 3, parents and teachers completed questionnaires while children (n = 66, ages 5-12) took part in testing. The children in Study 3 were divided into two groups: Control (n = 26) and ADHD (n = 40). The final SCT questionnaire consisted of 18 items and three subscales: Slow, Sleepy, and Daydreamer. The scale was constructed with good content validity (Studies 1 and 2), and was found to have strong reliability (Studies 2 and 3). Average SCT score was found to be higher in older children and in males. SCT was much more strongly related to the inattentive symptoms of ADHD than to the hyperactive/impulsive symptoms or to ODD. Specifically, while the Slow subscale was related to ADHD inattentive symptoms, the Sleepy and Daydreamer subscales were more distinct. The Attention Network Task (ANT) was used in Study 3 to assess attention; ANT Orienting was related to the Slow subscale and accuracy was related to overall SCT score in the control group. SCT was also related to internalizing symptoms, especially depression (Studies 2 and 3), and there was a relationship between the Daydreamer subscale and the Autism scale on the Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders. SCT was not related to academic achievement, nor was it related to impairment. | en_US |
