Stability of Attention Performance of Adults with ADHD over Time: Evidence from Repeated Neuropsychological Assessments in One-Month Intervals

Abstract

Neuropsychological assessments of attention are valuable sources of information in the clinical evaluation of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear whether the attention performance of adults with ADHD is stable or fluctuates over time, which is of great importance in the interpretation of clinical assessments. This study aimed to explore the stability of attention performance of adults with ADHD in repeated assessments at one-month intervals. Twenty-one adults diagnosed with ADHD took part in this study by completing selective attention and vigilance tests three times, each one month apart. Test scores of participants were compared with and interpreted based on test norms. A considerable proportion of ‘below average’ performance scores were observed in most of the variables of selective attention and vigilance in all three assessments. Further, selective attention and vigilance performance scores did not differ significantly between the three repeated assessments. Finally, the majority of participants received consistent test score interpretations across the three repeated assessments. This study confirms previous research and highlights abnormal selective attention and vigilance performance in adults with ADHD. Further, this study preliminarily demonstrates relatively stable attention performance across repeated assessments, which has the potential to support clinical assessment, treatment planning, and evaluation.

ADHD Adults Show Lower Interindividual Similarity in Ex-Gaussian Reaction Time Vectors for Congruent Stimuli Compared to Control Peers

“…The RT test re-test could lead to more precise diagnoses and more effective treatments for ADHD adults. This point is supported by recent studies reporting the stability of attention performance of adults with ADHD over time (Guo et al, 2022). These authors mention that the intraindividual analysis of performance fluctuations in Individuals with ADHD could be clinically meaningful.…”

“…The intraindividual variability in individuals with ADHD has been widely analyzed with or without the ex-Gaussian distributions of RT (Hohle, 1965; Ratcliff, 1979), which has proven to be a valuable tool in characterizing differences in RT between individuals with ADHD and controls (Bella-Fernández et al, 2023; Bluschke et al, 2021; Buzy et al, 2009; Castellanos et al, 2009; Flehmig et al, 2007; Fredriksen et al, 2021; Galloway-Long et al, 2022; Gmehlin et al, 2014; Gu et al, 2013; Guo et al, 2022; Hervey et al, 2006; Horowitz et al, 2020; Kofler et al, 2013; Kuntsi & Klein, 2012; Lin et al, 2015; Leth-Steensen et al, 2000; Schmid et al, 2020; Schulz-Zhecheva et al, 2023; Vainieri et al, 2022; Vaurio et al, 2009). Computational models using ex-Gaussian distributions used in conjunction with clinical assessments refine our understanding of cognitive concepts as: slow processing speed, and inhibition failures, which are commonly found in Individuals with ADHD (Ging-Jehli et al, 2021; Nikolas et al, 2019).…”

Cognitive Underperformance in a Mixed Neuropsychiatric Sample at Diagnostic Evaluation of Adult ADHD

“…The characteristics of all participants are presented in Table 1. Data of participants included in the present study overlapped with smaller data chunks used in previous research on different research questions (e.g., see [59][60][61]). Whereas previous topics of research included the diagnostic and clinical value of various clinical measures, the present study could be distinguished by its focus on symptom and performance validity.…”

“…The composition and psychometric properties of the test battery are extensively described in the test manual [52]. Since its introduction, CFADHD has been regularly the subject of neuropsychological research in adult ADHD (e.g., [59][60][61]72,73]). Therefore, it is a presumably well-suited candidate for embedded validity testing.…”

Feature engineering of EEG applied to mental disorders: a systematic mapping study

“…There are several procedures to diagnose mental disorders such as neurological exams [4], neuropsychological assessments [5] and neuroimaging modalities [6]. Physicians specialized in mental disorders usually turn to neuroimaging approaches for help and to improve the efficacy of the treatments.…”