| dc.description | Surprisingly few studies have been conducted with preschoolers with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) given that symptoms must be evident during the preschool period to qualify for diagnosis. The present study was designed to test the construct validity of a clinic-based ADHD assessment protocol with preschoolers. 50 preschoolers, 25 diagnosed with ADHD and 25 normal controls, matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic status, participated in the present study. Preschoolers were individually tested and observed (direct measures) and parents completed questionnaires (indirect measures) to assess preschoolers' levels of attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and psychosocial functioning. Preschoolers with ADHD are more inattentive---exhibiting more errors of omission on a visual Continuous Performance Test (CPT); taking longer to complete the preschool deletion task; and spending shorter periods of time playing with toys. Preschoolers with ADHD are more impulsive---exhibiting more errors of commission on a visual CPT and deletion task; verbalizing more frequently during tasks with less involvement by the examiner (visual CPT, low-structure play); engaging in more off-task behaviors during the self-paced deletion task. Preschoolers with ADHD are more hyperactive---exhibiting more out of seat behavior during the auditory CPT and more frequently moving around a play room. Finally, preschoolers with ADHD exhibit impairments in psychosocial functioning---receiving a higher frequency of examiner commands during the auditory CPT, deletion, and high-structure tasks; higher ratings by their parents indicating more pervasive and severe attention problems, more injury-risk behaviors, more noncompliance, more externalizing and internalizing symptomatology, and fewer prosocial skills; higher ratings of stress emanating from the child and parents' own characteristics, yet parents of preschoolers do not report differences in life event stress, depressive symptomatology, and overall family functioning. The Home Situations Questionnaire-Revised and Child Behavior Checklist-Total correctly classified 100% of the sample (ADHD vs. Normal Control), providing verification of diagnosis (also based on parent information); while the frequency of examiner commands and child verbalizations correctly classified 74% of preschoolers. Discussion focuses on the clinical validity of the protocol, the importance of assessing preschoolers using developmentally appropriate measures across multiple dimensions and using multiple methods of data collection. A discussion of pragmatic and theoretical issues are highlighted. | en_US |
