Assessing sluggish cognitive tempo and ADHD inattention in elementary students: empirical differentiation, invariance across sex and grade, and measurement precision
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= 398) provided ratings of SCT, ADHD-IN, academic impairment, and social impairment. An a priori 2-factor model with cross-loadings found the SCT items to demonstrate excellent structural validity with ADHD-IN items. The measurement properties of the SCT and ADHD-IN constructs were also invariant across sex and grade. SCT and ADHD-IN were both uniquely associated with academic and social impairment. Graded response item response theory analysis indicated that the SCT and ADHD-IN scales provided a high level of information and precision. The current study replicates and extends previous research and provides the strongest psychometric evidence to date of teacher-rated SCT using the CABI. The teacher-report CABI may be especially useful in the school-based screening of SCT and ADHD-IN. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Numerous studies found the association between SCT and global impairment/quality of life remained significant after covarying other psychopathology dimensions.
“Importantly, numerous studies found this association remained significant when covarying other psychopathology dimensions.27,39,80,128,129”
From Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (2023) · cites this paper as [39]
The Results section reports that SCT remained significantly associated with social and academic impairment after controlling for ADHD inattention, sex, grade, and cohort. This paper reports one study, not numerous studies, and it did not assess global impairment or quality of life or control for other psychopathology dimensions beyond ADHD inattention. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSCT is associated with lower income/education, negative family environment, peer victimization, and interpersonal (but not non-interpersonal) trauma exposure.
“A handful of studies investigated associations between SCT and psychosocial adversities, finding SCT to be associated with lower income/education,27,35,39,69 negative family environment,70 peer victimization,71 and interpersonal (but not non-interpersonal) trauma exposure.72”
From Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (2023) · cites this paper as [39]
The citation is attached to the lower income/education part of the sentence. The Results section on SCT and social and academic impairment reports associations with impairment, not family income or parental education; searches for income, parental education, and socioeconomic status found no passage addressing that association. The other adversities are attached to different citations. (LLM, conf=0.74)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSelf-reported SCT is linked to poorer self-reported emotion regulation in children and adults.
“Self-reported SCT has been linked to poorer self-reported emotion regulation among children19,24 and adults39,88,89,109,110”
From Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (2023) · cites this paper as [39]
The Methods > Measure section describes teacher ratings of SCT and academic and social impairment, not self-reports of emotion regulation. The Discussion > Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions section names emotion regulation as a domain for future study. Searches for self-reported SCT and emotion regulation in children and adults found no passage reporting the claimed link; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEpidemiological studies find elevated SCT symptoms in 46% of adults with ADHD.
“and 46% of adults with ADHD.39”
From Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (2023) · cites this paper as [39]
The Methods > Participants section describes teacher ratings of students in grades 2–5, not adults with ADHD. Searches for “46%” and for elevated SCT symptoms in adults with ADHD found no passage reporting the claimed prevalence. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- Becker, S. P., Mossing, K. W., Zoromski, A. K., Vaughn, A. J., Epstein, J. N., Tamm, L., & Burns, G. L.
- Affiliations
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychological Assessment
- Published
- 2020-11
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1047-1056
- ISSN
- 1040-3590 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-134X
- PMC
- PMC8019062
- OpenAlex
- W3046261123
- Semantic Scholar
- 86dd631f355ac0040ddb7104ec75657608a50b6d
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 2.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychological Assessment (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Grantee Submission
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Education (R305A160064)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH108603)
- National Institutes of Health (5UL1TR001425-04)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Keywords
- sluggish cognitive tempo, teacher ratings, measurement invariance, sex differences, grade level differences, measurement precision, academic impairment, social dysfunction, school-based screening, elementary school students
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Attention, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Cognition, Confusion, Fantasy, Female, Humans, Male, Schools, Sex Factors, Students, Lethargy, Cognitive Dysfunction
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