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Sluggish cognitive tempo and impairment: The role of lifestyle factors
Author(s) -
Wood Whitney L. M.,
Lewandowski Lawrence J.,
Lovett Benjamin J.,
Antshel Kevin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.22378
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , mental health , cognition , cognitive impairment , construct (python library) , psychiatry , developmental psychology , computer science , economics , macroeconomics , programming language
The purpose of this study was to assess whether sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) behaviors were associated with a unique impairment profile for college students after accounting for lifestyle (sleep, substance use, health) and mental health factors (attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], anxiety, depression). A general sample of 910 undergraduate students completed several measures via online survey. Most participants were female (64.9%) and were Caucasian (60.7%), with an average age of 19.41 years. Students who endorsed elevated SCT behaviors reported significantly more impairment compared to students who reported low levels of SCT behaviors. However, regression analyses suggested that SCT behaviors do not account for significant amounts of unique impairment after controlling for related mental health (ADHD, anxiety, depression) and lifestyle variables (sleep, health, substance use). The lack of impairment associated uniquely with SCT behaviors suggests that SCT may serve as a construct underlying many variables, rather than standing independently as a distinct disorder.