This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link FLANKER PERFORMANCE IN FEMALE STUDENTS WITH ADHD 2 AbstractAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by poor adaptation to environmental demands that leads to various everyday life problems. The present study had four aims: (1) To compare performance in a flanker task in female college students with and without ADHD (N = 39) in a classical analyses of reaction time and error rate and studying the underlying processes using a diffusion model, (2) to compare the amount of focused attention, (3) to explore the adaptation of focused attention, and (4) to relate adaptation to psychological functioning. The study followed a 2-between (Group: ADHD vs. control) × 2-within (Flanker Conflict: incongruent vs. congruent) × 2-within (Conflict Frequency: 20% vs.80%) design. Compared to a control group the ADHD group displayed prolonged response times accompanied by fewer errors in a flanker task. Results from diffusion model analyses revealed that members of the ADHD group showed deficits in nondecisional processes (i.e., higher nondecision time) and leaned more towards accuracy than participants without ADHD (i.e., setting higher boundaries). The ADHD group showed a more focused attention and less adaptation to the task conditions which is related to psychological functioning. Deficient nondecisional processes and poor adaptation are in line with theories of ADHD and presumably typical for the ADHD population, although this has not been shown using a diffusion model. However, we assume that the cautious strategy of trading speed of for accuracy is specific to the subgroup of female college students with ADHD and might be interpreted as a compensation mechanism.Keywords: ADHD, neuropsychological function, flanker task, college students, females, diffusion model (Bush et al. 1999). Taken together, these findings suggest impaired conflict adaptions in adults with ADHD due to a lack of activation in the ACC. Wendt, Luna-Rodriguez, and Jacobsen, 2012). This effect has mostly been studied to examine underlying processes in human conflict processing in general. However, the difference between congruency effects in blocks of high and low conflict is also an intraindividual measure of adaptation of focused attention to conflict and can be compared between different groups of participants. A high conflict adaptation effect (i.e., large difference between the congruency effects in blocks of high and low conflict occurrence)would imply that the participant showed adaptive behavior. Exploring Underlying ProcessesPerformances in two-choice selective attention or conflict tasks is commonly described in terms of two dependent variables: accuracy (i.e., ER) and speed (i.e., RT). In The model separates decisional from non-decisional processes. The first parameter t0, the nondecision time, is a measure of all processes other than decision processes that contribute to a given r...

College students, especially women, with ADHD struggle with health-related issues. Some of these gender differences might be due to under diagnosis of girls in childhood. Differences in achievement motivation might indicate compensatory mechanisms.

Results from developmental research could benefit studies that improve ADHD diagnosis at the individual level. It might be helpful to consider testing as a structured situation for behavioral observation by the clinician.

Adults with ADHD have problems in everyday multitasking situations presumably because of deficits in executive functions. The present study aims to find out (a) whether adults with ADHD show deficient multitasking performance in a standardized task, (b) how they perceive the multitasking situation, and (c) which task structure might be beneficial for them as compared with adults without ADHD. Therefore, we experimentally compared task performance, mood, and motivation in a group of 45 men with ADHD (M-age = 34.47, SD = 9.95) with a comparison group of 42 men without ADHD (M-age = 31.12, SD = 10.59) in three conditions: (a) a multitasking paradigm, (b) an interleaving condition in which tasks had to be performed without planning or monitoring, and (c) a non-interleaving condition. Our results showed no impaired multitasking performance in adults with ADHD. However, they showed better mood and more motivation in the non-interleaving condition.