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Stimulation Seeking and Hyperactivity in Children with ADHD
Author(s) -
Antrop Inge,
Roeyers Herbert,
Oost Paulette Van,
Buysse Ann
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/1469-7610.00603
Subject(s) - stimulation , psychology , developmental psychology , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , audiology , attention deficit , clinical psychology , neuroscience , medicine
Thirty hyperactive and 30 non‐hyperactive children were confronted with a delay, consisting of a waiting situation of 15 minutes, either with or without extra stimulation provided by the presentation of a videotape. The behaviour of the child during the waiting period was videotaped and later coded by two naive observers. In line with theories that emphasise the stimulation‐seeking function of hyperactive behaviours, such as the optimal stimulation account and the delay aversion theory, a group by stimulation effect was hypothesised. For two categories of activity this was found, with ADHD children displaying more activity than non‐ADHD children in the no‐stimulation but not in the stimulation condition. These data provide support for the stimulation‐seeking function of certain features of ADHD hyperactivity.