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Response style differences in the inattentive and combined subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Author
Abstract
:

This study examined potential differences between the inattentive and combined ADHD subtypes using laboratory tasks assessing behavioral inhibitory processes. Seventy-five children completed two tasks of behavioral inhibition believed to isolate different processes: the cued reaction time task (CRT), a basic inhibition task, and the go/no-go task (GNG), a complex inhibition task that incorporates motivational contingencies. Three groups of participants were identified, including ADHD/Inattentive (n = 17), ADHD/Combined (n = 37), and comparison (n = 21). Results indicated that rather than showing behavioral inhibition deficits, the ADHD/I children appeared overly inhibited, as evidenced by slower reaction times across the two tasks and significantly higher errors of omission in the GNG task. Additionally, the ADHD/I children did not demonstrate cue dependency effects on the CRT task, suggesting that they were failing to incorporate relevant information before making a response. The sluggish and inhibited performance of the ADHD/I group challenges the idea that it is a subtype of ADHD.

Year of Publication
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2008
Journal
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Journal of abnormal child psychology
Volume
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36
Issue
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5
Number of Pages
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745-58
ISSN Number
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0091-0627
URL
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9207-3
DOI
:
10.1007/s10802-007-9207-3
Short Title
:
J Abnorm Child Psychol
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