Internal and External Validity of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD Inattention Dimensions with Teacher Ratings of Nepali Children

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the validity of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and ADHD-inattention (IN) symptoms in children from Nepal. Teachers rated SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHDhyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), anxiety, depression, academic impairment, social impairment, and peer rejection dimensions in 366 children (50 % girls) in first through sixth grades (M age = 9.35, SD age = 1.96) on two separate occasions separated by 4-weeks. Seven of the eight SCT symptoms and all nine ADHD-IN symptoms showed convergent validity (substantial loadings on their respective factors) and discriminant validity (higher loadings on their respective factor than the alternative factor) at both time-points. Across all three separate analyses (assessment 1, assessment 2, and from assessment 1 to assessment 2), higher SCT scores were associated with lower ADHD-HI scores and higher depression, academic impairment, and social impairment scores after controlling for ADHD-IN while higher ADHD-IN scores were associated with higher ADHD-HI, ODD, academic impairment, and peer rejection scores after controlling for SCT. Also, as hypothesized, SCT scores were not related to ODD scores after controlling for ADHD-IN. The study provides the first evidence for the internal and external validity of the SCT dimension relative to the ADHD-IN dimension with teacher ratings of children from Nepal, thereby increasing the validity of the SCT construct beyond North America, Western Europe, South America, and South Korea.

Can Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Be Distinguished From ADHD Inattention in Very Young Children? Evidence From a Sample of Korean Preschool Children

“…Intriguingly, both SCT and ADHD-IN were uniquely associated with internalizing symptoms in this study. In a number of previous studies, in at least some analyses SCT alone (and not ADHD-IN) was uniquely associated with internalizing symptoms or withdrawal (Becker & Langberg, 2013; Becker, Langberg, et al, 2014; Khadka et al, 2016; Penny et al, 2009; Willcutt et al, 2014). While there are also exceptions to this pattern of findings (Bauermeister, Barkley, Bauermeister, Martinez, & McBurnett, 2012; Burns et al, 2016; Servera et al, 2016) it is nevertheless possible that SCT becomes more strongly associated with internalizing maladjustment across development.…”

Sluggish cognitive tempo in children referred to a pediatric Sleep Disorders Center: Examining possible overlap with sleep problems and associations with impairment

“…Based on previous research (Becker et al, 2016), we hypothesized that SCT would remain associated with poorer academic functioning, greater ADHD and internalizing symptom severity, and less oppositionality after controlling for demographics, sleep problem severity, and other psychopathology symptoms. Although previous research has found an association between SCT and interpersonal problems, these studies have focused on general social problems or peer problems specifically (Bauermeister et al, 2012, Becker, 2014, Khadka et al, 2015, Willcutt et al, 2014); we extend the available interpersonal functioning research by examining SCT in relation to the parent-child relationship and parenting stress. Since SCT is linked to social problems and peer difficulties, we hypothesized that SCT would be associated with difficulties in the parent-child relationship.…”

Sluggish cognitive tempo in children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders: Social impairments and internalizing symptoms

“…“gets lost in his or her own thoughts”; “daydreams”; “seems to be in a world of his or her own”) (Penny, Waschbusch, Klein, Corkum & Eskes, ). The majority of studies have used two to four items of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, ) or eight to ten items of the Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavior Inventory (CADBI; Burns & Lee, ) to assess SCT symptoms (Becker, Garner & Byars, ; Belmar, Servera, Becker & Burns, ; Burns, Servera, Bernad, Carrillo & Cardo, ; Khadka, Burns & Becker, ; Lee et al ., ; Lee, Burns & Becker, ). In addition to CBCL and CADBI, a 15 item SCT scale has been developed by McBurnett and Pfiffner in 2005 and a 14 item SCT scale has been developed by Penny et al .…”