Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of sluggish cognitive tempo

Abstract

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is characterized by a passive form of inattention that may not overtly disrupt classroom goals. Due to the nature of these symptoms, children with SCT may be "falling through the cracks" in schools. The current study examined pre-service teachers' perceptions of SCT in the classroom. Undergraduate education majors (n = 161) read vignettes describing fictitious fourth-grade boys presenting with symptoms of SCT, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or a non-ADHD-related control: social anxiety disorder (SA), and rated each of the vignettes in terms of their perceptions of the boy described. Results were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVAs and paired-sample t tests. Pre-service teachers viewed all three sets of symptoms as concerning, but viewed ADHD behaviors as the most problematic. These results are promising, as they suggest that pre-service teachers are concerned about both hyperactive (i.e., ADHD) and non-hyperactive behavioral problems (i.e., SCT and SA). Implications and future directions are discussed.

Sluggish cognitive tempo and student–teacher relationship quality: Short-term longitudinal and concurrent associations.

“…Examined unidimensionally, SCT has been found to be associated with greater social withdrawal, peer ignoring, lower rates of social participation and leadership, and a higher likelihood to miss subtle social cues (Becker et al, 2017; Marshall, Evans, Eiraldi, Becker, & Power, 2014; Mikami, Huang-Pollock, Pfiffner, McBurnett, & Hangai, 2007). There is also preliminary evidence that teachers may be concerned with SCT behaviors, as Meisinger and Lefler (2017) found that preservice teachers rated similar levels of concern for students described as having SCT, ADHD, or social anxiety, and also rated SCT behaviors as worthy of a referral for services. As a multidimensional construct, Fenollar Cortés and colleagues (2017) reported a two-factor structure of SCT in a sample of children and adolescents with a diagnosis of ADHD that included an inconsistent alertness factor (e.g., daydreams, absentminded) and a slowness factor (e.g., seems drowsy, slow moving).…”

Supporting patients with ADHD: Missed opportunities?

“…Its articles focus on aspects related to non-pharmacological interventions (Kysow et al 2017;Philipsen et al 2017) and pharmacological treatment (Tanaka et al 2017). Moreover, the genetic association between ADHD and Parkinson's disease (Geissler et al 2017) as well as pre-service teachers' perceptions of sluggish cognitive tempo (Meisinger and Lefler 2017) are elucidated.…”