Abstract
This study used a double-dissociation design to evaluate whether children with ADHD demonstrated specific deficits relative to children with Reading Disorders. Recent theory suggests that ADHD children have deficits in time perception and working memory, whereas RD children have deficits in phonological decoding. The performance of 113 clinic-referred children aged 6–11 was examined using measures of working memory, phonological processing, and time perception. Respondents completed two time production tasks in which they were to judge when 30-s had elapsed, and another in which they were asked to estimate the duration of the Conners' CPT (CCPT). Time Perception and phonological processing variables were submitted to a 2 × 2 ANCOVA (ADHD vs. RD), covarying for age, SES, IQ, and working memory. Children with ADHD were more likely to overestimate the time taken for the CCPT than children without ADHD, but no group differences were found on the 30-s estimation tasks. Children with RD did not display deficits in time estimation, but showed deficits in auditory phonological processing. The lack of interaction effects supported an “etiological subtype” over the “phenocopy” model of ADHD and RD. No group differences were detected using the CCPT. Although our previous studies did not find an order effect for the Conners' CPT in a 1-hr battery, a fatigue effect was evident with a 1.5-hr battery. The implications for Barkley's behavioral inhibition theories (R. Barkley, 1997) are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Achenbach, T. (1991a). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile.Burlington, VT: University of Vermont.
Achenbach, T. (1991b). Manual for the Teacher's Report Form /4-18 and 1991 Profile.Burlington, VT: University of Vermont.
August, G., & Garfinkel, B. (1990). Comorbidity of ADHD and reading disability among clinic-referred children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 18(1), 29–45.
Barkley, R. (1991). The ecological validity of laboratory and analogue assessment methods of ADHD symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 19(2), 149–178.
Barkley, R. (1997a). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, selfregulation, and time: Toward a more comprehensive theory. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 18 ,271–279.
Barkley, R. (1997b). ADHD and the nature of self control.New York: Guilford.
Barkley, R. (1997c). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121 ,65–94.
Barkley, R. (1997d). Defiant children, 2nd ed. New York: Guilford.
Barkley, R., DuPaul, G., & McMurray, M. (1990). Comprehensive evaluation of attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity as defined by research criteria. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 775–789.
Barkley, R., Edwards, G., Laneri, M., Fletcher, K., & Metevia, L. (2001). Executive functioning, temporal discounting, and sense of time in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29 ,541–546.
Barkley, R., Grodzinsky, G., & DuPaul, G. (1992). Frontal lobe functions in attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity: A review and research report. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20 ,163–188.
Barkley, R., Koplowitz, S., Anderson, T., & McMurray, M. (1997). Sense of time in children with ADHD: Effects of duration, distraction, and stimulant medication. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 3 ,359–369.
Barkley, R., Murphy, K., & Bush, T. (2001). Time perception and reproduction in young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychology, 15 ,351–360.
Blishen, B. R., Carroll, W. K., & Moore, C. (1987). The 1981 socioeconomic index for occupations in Canada. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 24 ,465–488.
Breier, J., Gray, L., Fletcher, J., Foorman, B., & Klaas, P. (2002). Perception of speech and nonspeech stimuli by children with a reading disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 82 ,226–250.
Brodeur, D., & Pond, M. (2001). The development of selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29 ,229–239.
Castellanos, F., & Tannock, R. (2002). Neuroscience of attentiondeficit/ hyperactiviety disorder: The search for endophenotypes. National Review of Neuroscience, 3 ,617–628.
Catts, H. (1989). Defining dyslexia as a developmental language disorder. Annals of Dyslexia, 39 ,50–63.
Cohen, N., Vallance, D., Barwick, M., Im, N., Menna, R., Horodezky, N., et al. (2000). The interface between ADHD and language impairment: An examination of language, achievement, and cognitive processing. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41 ,353–362.
Compton, D., DeFries, J., & Olson, R. (2001). Are RAN-and phonological awareness-Deficits additive in children with reading disabilities? Dyslexia, 7 ,125–149.
Conners, C. (1995). Conners' Continuous Performance Test. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
Conners, C. (1997). Conners' Rating Scales-Revised. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
Corkum, P., & Siegel, L. (1993). Is the Continuous Performance Task a valuable research tool for use with children with attentiondeficit-hyperactivity disorder? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34 ,1217–1239.
Davis, C., Gayan, J., Knopik, V., Smith, S., Cardon, L., Pennington, B., et al. (2001). Etiology of reading difficulties and rapid naming: The Colorado twin study of reading disability. Behavioral Genetics, 31 ,625–635.
Droit-Volet, S., & Rattat, A. (1999). Are time and action dissociated in young children's time estimation? Cognitive Development, 14 ,573–595.
Dunn, L., & Dunn, L. (1997). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- Third edition. Minnesota: American Guidance Service.
Eliason, M., & Richman, L. (1987). The Continuous Performance Test in learning disabled and non disabled children. Journal of Reading Disabilities, 20,614–619.
Felton, R., Wood, F., Brown, I., Campbell, S., & Harter, M. (1987). Separate verbal memory and naming deficits in attention deficit disorder and reading disability. Brain and Language, 31 ,171–184.
Fischer, M., Newby, R., & Gordon, M. (1995). Who are the false negatives on continuous performance tests? Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 24 ,427–433.
Halperin, J., Newcorn, J., Koda, V., Pick, L., McKay, K., & Knott, P. (1997). Noradrenergic mechanisms in ADHD children with and without reading disabilities: A replication and extension. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36 ,1688–1697.
Kerns, K., McInerney, R., & Wilde, N. (2001). Time reproduction, working memory, and behavioral inhibition in children with ADHD. Child Neuropsychology, 7 ,21–31.
Kerns, K., & Price, K. (2001). An investigation of prospective memory in children with ADHD. Child Neuropsychology, 7 ,162–171.
Koelega, H. (1995). Is the continuous performance task useful in research with ADHD children? Comments on a review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36 ,1477–1485.
Koriath, U., Gualtieri, T., Van Bourgondien, M., Quade, D., & Werry, J. (1985). Construct validity of clinical diagnosis in pediatric psychiatry: Relationship among measures. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 242,429–436.
Korkman, M., & Pesonen, A. (1994). A comparison of neuropsychological test profiles of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and/or learning disorder. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 6 ,383–392.
Landau, M., Gross-Tsur, V., Auerbach, J., Van der Meere, J., & Shalev, R. (1999). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and developmental right-hemisphere syndrome: Congruence and incongruence of cognitive and behavioral aspects of attention. Journal of Child Neurology, 14 ,299–303.
Losier, B., McGrath, P., & Klein, R. (1996). Error patterns on the continuous performance test in non-medicated and medicated samples of children with and without ADHD: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37 ,971–987.
McBride-Chang, C. (1995). What is phonological awareness? Journal of Educational Psychology, 87 ,179–192.
McGee, R., Clark, S., & Symons, D. (2000). Does the Conners' Continuous Performance Test aid in ADHD diagnosis? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28 ,415–424.
Miller, G., & Chapman, J. (2001). Misunderstanding analysis of covariance. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110 ,40–48.
Pennington, B., Groisser, D., & Welsh, M. (1993). Contrasting cognitive deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder versus reading disability. Developmental Psychology, 29 ,511–523.
Pennington, B., & Ozonoff, S. (1996). Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37 ,51–87.
Purvis, K., & Tannock, R. (2000). Phonological processing, not inhibitory control, differentiates ADHD and reading disability. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39 ,485–494.
Rucklidge, J., & Tannock, R. (2002). Neuropsychological profiles of adolescents with ADHD: Effects of reading difficulties and gender. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43 ,988–1003.
Seidman, L., Biederman, J., Monuteaux, M., Doyle, A., & Faraone, S. (2001). Learning disabilities and executive dysfunction in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychology, 15 ,544–556.
Semrud-Clikeman, M., Biederman, J., Sprich-Buckminster, S., Lehman, B., Faraone, S., & Norman, D. (1992). Comorbidity between ADHD and learning disability: A review and report in a clinically referred sample. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31 ,439–448.
Shapiro, S., & Herod, L. (1994). Combining visual and auditory tasks in the assessment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In D. Routh (Ed.), Disruptive behavior disorders in childhood (pp. 87–107). New York: Plenum.
Smith, A., Taylor, E., Rogers, J., Newman, S., & Rubia, K. (2002). Evidence for a pure time perception deficit in children with ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43 ,529–542.
Stevens, J., Quittner, A., Zuckerman, J., & Moore, S. (2002). Behavioral inhibition, self-regulation of motivation, and working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Neuropsychology, 21 ,117–139.
Tannock, R., Ickowicz, A., & Schachar, R. (1995). Differential effects of methylphenidate on working memory in ADHD children with and without comorbid anxiety. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34 ,886–896.
Tarnowski, K., Prinz, R., & Nay, S. (1986). Comparative analysis of attentional deficits in hyperactive and learning-disabled children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95 ,341–345.
Trommer, B., Hoeppner, J., Lorder, R., & Armstrong, K. (1988). Pitfalls in the use of a continuous performance test as a diagnostic tool in attention deficit disorder. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 9 ,339–346.
Willcutt, E., Pennington, B., Boada, R., Ogline, J., Tunick, R., Chhabildas, N., et al. (2001). A comparison of the cognitive deficits in reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 11 ,157–172.
Willcutt, E., Pennington, B., & DeFries, J. (2000). Twin study of the etiology of comorbidity between reading disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 3 ,293–301.
West, J., Douglas, G., Houghton, S., Lawrence, V., Whiting, K., & Glasgow, K. (2000). Time perception in boys with attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder according to time duration, distraction and mode of presentation. Child Neuropsychology, 6 ,241–250.
Woodcock, R., & Johnson, M. (1989, 1990). Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised. Chicago, IL: Riverside.
Zakay, D. (1992). The role of attention in children's time perception. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 54 ,355–371.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McGee, R., Brodeur, D., Symons, D. et al. Time Perception: Does It Distinguish ADHD and RD Children in a Clinical Sample?. J Abnorm Child Psychol 32, 481–490 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JACP.0000037778.61929.1b
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JACP.0000037778.61929.1b