Can sluggish cognitive tempo be distinguished from ADHD inattention in very young children? Evidence from a sample of Korean preschool children
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Objective: This study evaluated whether sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is separable from ADHD–inattention (IN) and uniquely associated with internalizing dimensions in preschool children in South Korea. Method: Mothers of 172 preschool children (ages 4-6 years; 52% girls) rated children’s SCT, ADHD-IN, ADHD–hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), aggression, emotional reactivity, anxiety/depression, somatic complaints, withdrawal, and sleep problems. Results: Eight of 10 SCT symptoms showed convergent and discriminant validity with ADHD-IN. ADHD-IN remained significantly positively associated with ADHD-HI, ODD, and aggressive behavior after controlling for SCT, whereas SCT was no longer positively associated with these externalizing behaviors after controlling for ADHD-IN. Both SCT and ADHD-IN were uniquely associated with greater emotionally reactivity, anxiety/depression, and withdrawal. Only SCT was uniquely associated with somatic complaints, and only ADHD-IN was uniquely associated with sleep problems. Conclusion: Findings replicate results with children and adolescents, thus expanding evidence for the validity of SCT in early development.
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CDS is closely linked to somatic disorders, such as physical complaints and lethargy.
“Moreover, CDS is closely linked to somatic disorders, such as physical complaints and lethargy [56,58-60].”
From Emotional Dysregulation and Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome: Exploring Their Relationship Through the Lens of Twin Studies (2025) · cites this paper as [59]
The Discussion (External Validity; page not provided) reports an association between SCT symptoms and increased somatic complaints in Korean preschool children. It does not establish a link to somatic disorders broadly or identify lethargy as a somatic complaint; the Internal Validity discussion treats low activity as an SCT symptom and says the drowsy/sleepy symptom did not load strongly on the SCT factor. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe single study on substance use found greater alcohol use, but not cannabis use, among college students with elevated SCT compared with students with low SCT scores.
“The single study on this topic found that greater alcohol but not cannabis use was reported among college students with elevated SCT compared to students with low SCT scores.116”
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 [116]
The Results and Discussion passages concern SCT in Korean preschool children, including emotional symptoms, withdrawal, and somatic complaints. A search of our copy for alcohol, cannabis, substance use, and college students found no passage reporting the claimed comparison between high- and low-SCT college students. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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De Giuli, G., Amico, C., De Francesco, S., Giani, L., Tüzün, G., Galli, F., Caputi, M., Forresi, B., & Scaini, S. (2025) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app15116067 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lee, S., Burns, G. L., & Becker, S. P.
- Affiliations
- Sookmyung Women's University (KR)
- Washington State University (US)
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Burns, G. Leonard
- Venue
- Journal of Attention Disorders
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-11-25
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 623-631
- ISSN
- 1087-0547 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1246
- PMC
- PMC6050985
- OpenAlex
- W2549654243
- Semantic Scholar
- 193b5902b64097adb9320b8ef377d47a248ee5ef
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 3.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Journal of Attention Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH108603)
- 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, oppositional defiant disorder, aggression, internalizing problems, emotional reactivity, anxiety and depression, somatic symptoms, sleep disorders, preschool children, convergent and discriminant validity, Korean children
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Aggression, Anxiety Disorders, Attention, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child, Preschool, Cognition Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Diagnosis, Differential, Female, Humans, Hyperkinesis, Impulsive Behavior, Male, Mothers, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Republic of Korea
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