Sustained and selective attention in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Attempted to claim the nature of the sustained and selective attention deficits implicated in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Specifically, performance on the Continuous Performance Test (CPT; Sergeant & van der Meere, 1990) and speeded classification task was assessed for a group of7- to 12-year-old ADHD boys and their same-aged normal peers. Results of the CPT indicated that both perceptual sensitivity and omission errors increased over time for the ADHD boys to a greater degree than for the control boys, findings indicative of a sustained (attention deficit. Results of the speeded classification task indicated that ADHD children's performance was not as efficient as normal children. However, there was no evidence for a selective attention deficit. Findings are discussed in terns of a process-energy model of attention.