A comprehensive, empirically based review of the published studies addressing neuropsychological performance in adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was conducted to identify patterns of performance deficits. Findings from 33 published studies were submitted to a meta-analytic procedure producing sample-size-weighted mean effect sizes across test measures. Results suggest that neuropsychological deficits are expressed in adults with ADHD across multiple domains of functioning, with notable impairments in attention, behavioral inhibition, and memory, whereas normal performance is noted in simple reaction time. Theoretical and developmental considerations are discussed, including the role of behavioral inhibition and working memory impairment. Future directions for research based on these findings are highlighted, including further exploration of specific impairments and an emphasis on particular tests and testing conditions.

Within American psychology, there has been a recent surge of interest in self-compassion, a construct from Buddhist thought. Self-compassion entails: (a) being kind and understanding toward oneself in times of pain or failure, (b) perceiving one's own suffering as part of a larger human experience, and (c) holding painful feelings and thoughts in mindful awareness. In this article we review findings from personality, social, and clinical psychology related to self-compassion. First, we define self-compassion and distinguish it from other self-constructs such as self-esteem, self-pity, and self-criticism. Next, we review empirical work on the correlates of self-compassion, demonstrating that self-compassion has consistently been found to be related to well-being. These findings support the call for interventions that can raise self-compassion. We then review the theory and empirical support behind current interventions that could enhance self-compassion including compassionate mind training (CMT), imagery work, the gestalt two-chair technique, mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Directions for future research are also discussed.

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Objective: To review the literature on the cognitive-behavioral treatment of children and adolescents with anxiety and depressive disorders within the conceptual framework of evidence-based medicine. Method: The psychiatric and psychological literature was systematically searched for controlled trials applying cognitive-behavioral treatment to pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders. Results: For both anxiety and depression, substantial evidence supports the efficacy of problem-specific cognitive-behavioral interventions. Comparisons with wait-list, inactive control, and active control conditions suggest medium to large effects for symptom reduction in primary outcome domains. Conclusions:From an evidence-based perspective, cognitive-behavioral therapy is currently the treatment of choice for anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adolescents. Future research in this area will need to focus on comparing cognitivebehavioral psychotherapy with other treatments, component analyses, and the application of exportable protocol-driven treatments to divergent settings and patient populations. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2004;43(8):930-959.Key Words: outcome studies, children and adolescents with major depression and dysthymic disorder, children and adolescents with anxiety disorder, literature review.

Differences in reaction time (RT) variability have been documented between children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Most previous research has utilized estimates of normal distributions to examine variability. Using a nontraditional approach, the present study evaluated RT distributions on the Conners' Continuous Performance Test in children and adolescents from the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD sample compared to a matched sample of normal controls (n = 65 pairs). The ex-Gaussian curve was used to model RT and RT variability. Children with ADHD demonstrated faster RT associated with the normal portion of the curve and a greater proportion of abnormally slow responses associated with the exponential portion of the curve. These results contradict previous interpretation that children with ADHD have slower than normal responding and demonstrate why slower RT is found when estimates of variability assume normal Gaussian distributions. Further, results of this study suggest that the greater number of abnormally long RTs of children with ADHD reflect attentional lapses on some but not all trials.