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Confirmation of an Inhibitory Control Deficit in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether deficient inhibitory control distinguishes children with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder, conduct disorder (CD), and comorbid ADHD + CD from normally developing children. Participants were rigorously diagnosed children (age 7 to 12 years) with ADHD (N = 72), CD (N = 13) or ADHD + CD (N = 47) and 33 control children (NC). We studied inhibitory control using the stop-signal paradigm, a laboratory task that assessed the ability to inhibit an ongoing action. The ADHD group had significantly impaired inhibitory control compared to NC, CD, and ADHD + CD children. These results indicate that children with ADHD have deficient inhibition as measured in the stop-signal paradigm and that ADHD occurring in the presence of ADHD + CD may represent a phenocopy of CD rather than a variant of ADHD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and the Brain and Behavior Program, The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Russell Schachar, Victor L. Mota, Rosemary Tannock & Paula Klim

  2. Department of Child Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.

    Russell Schachar

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois

    Gordon D. Logan

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  1. Russell Schachar
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  2. Victor L. Mota
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  3. Gordon D. Logan
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  4. Rosemary Tannock
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  5. Paula Klim
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Schachar, R., Mota, V.L., Logan, G.D. et al. Confirmation of an Inhibitory Control Deficit in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. J Abnorm Child Psychol 28, 227–235 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005140103162

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