Are sluggish cognitive tempo, ADHD, and oppositional defiant disorder trait- or state-like constructs from prekindergarten to fourth grade?
Open accessAbstract
The objective was to determine the proportion of trait (consistency across occasions) and occasion-specific variance in sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)–inattention (IN), ADHD–hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptom ratings. A single trait factor-multiple state factors model was applied to parent ratings of SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD symptoms for 978 children (50% female) across prekindergarten (M = 4.90 years), kindergarten (M = 6.27 years), 1st-grade (M = 7.42 years), 2nd-grade (M = 8.45 years), and 4th-grade (M = 10.45 years) assessments. For the prekindergarten assessment, SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD contained more occasion-specific than trait variance (54%, 64%, 56%, and 55% occasion-specific variance, respectively). In contrast, SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD contained more trait than occasion-specific variance for the kindergarten through 4th-grade assessments (62%–72%, 65%–68%, 71%–75%, and 60%–69% trait variance, respectively). SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHD-HI, and ODD are slightly to moderately more state-like than trait-like during the prekindergarten developmental period but are more stable traits than fluctuating states from kindergarten to 4th grade. Findings indicate that, particularly after children start formal schooling, these psychopathology dimensions are primarily stable traits; implications for assessment are discussed.
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SCT elevations have been reported in children exposed prenatally to alcohol or maternal smoking, pediatric traumatic brain injury survivors, and youth with spina bifida.
“SCT elevations were reported in children exposed prenatally to alcohol44,45 or maternal smoking,46 pediatric traumatic brain injury survivors,47 and youth with spina bifida.48”
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 [47]
The Method (Participants and Procedures; page unavailable) describes a longitudinal study of Colorado twins, and the Discussion (Clinical Implications; page unavailable) addresses assessment of SCT in young children. Neither passage reports SCT elevations after prenatal alcohol or maternal-smoking exposure, traumatic brain injury, or spina bifida; searches for those conditions found no matching passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.75)
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- Authors
- Burns, G. L., Becker, S. P., Geiser, C., Leopold, D. R., & Willcutt, E. G.
- Affiliations
- Washington State University (US)
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- Utah State University (US)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Corresponding author
- Burns, G. Leonard
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-04-15
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 460-468
- ISSN
- 1537-4416 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-4424
- PMC
- PMC6800749
- OpenAlex
- W2939337081
- Semantic Scholar
- 700c2d4d967444c632def144ce898a48ece97ece
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 2.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH108603)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD027802)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- sluggish cognitive tempo, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, symptom stability, parent ratings, early childhood development, elementary school students, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity
- MeSH terms
- Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
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