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Executive functioning in children: a comparison of hospitalised ODD and ODD/ADHD children and normal controls
Author(s) -
Van Goozen Stephanie H.M.,
CohenKettenis Peggy T.,
Snoek Heddeke,
Matthys Walter,
SwaabBarneveld Hanna,
Van Engeland Herman
Publication year - 2004
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/j.1469-7610.2004.00220.x
Subject(s) - impulsivity , psychology , executive functions , perseveration , working memory , inhibitory control , neuropsychology , set (abstract data type) , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , executive dysfunction , developmental psychology , cognition , cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery , cognitive flexibility , response inhibition , attentional control , clinical psychology , psychiatry , spatial memory , computer science , programming language
Background: Deficits in executive functioning are supposed to have a predisposing influence on impulsive or aggressive behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that oppositional‐defiant disorder (ODD) children with or without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have problems in executive functioning. Method: Seventy‐seven 7‐ to 12‐year‐old children (15 ODD, 26 ODD/ADHD, and 36 normal controls), all with normal IQ, completed 7 neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, assessing the abilities of set shifting, planning, working memory, inhibition/attention, and impulsivity. Some of these tasks involved the possibility of monetary rewards with a view to testing the prediction of a specific motivational inhibitory deficit. Results: We found no evidence of deficits in working memory, planning, inhibition, or impulsivity. However, the ODD/ADHD group was worse than the normal control (NC) group in set shifting, and both the ODD and ODD/ADHD groups performed worse on a response perseveration task. Moreover, on the basis of one variable derived from a motivational inhibition task, 77% of the children could be correctly classified as ODD or NC. Conclusions: The findings do not support the hypothesis that ODD and ODD/ADHD children have a deficit in executive inhibitory control; rather, they emphasise that they have problems in regulating their behaviour under motivational inhibitory conditions.