J Korean Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry.  2013 Dec;24(4):220-227.

Clinical Characteristics and Neuropsychological Profiles of the Children with ADHD and Their Siblings

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. shingubi@amc.seoul.kr
  • 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVES
This study aims to investigate the clinical characteristics and neuropsychological profiles of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their siblings.
METHODS
Eighteen children (age 8.2+/-1.7 years, 12 boys) with ADHD and their 18 siblings (age 7.8+/-1.6 years, 8 boys) completed Continuous Performance (CPT), Stroop, Children's Trail Making, Rey-Kim Memory, and Kim's Frontal Executive Function tasks. The parents of these subjects underwent the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale (ARS), 10-item Parent General Behavior Inventory (P-GBI), and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Paired t-tests were used.
RESULTS
The inattention (p=.020), and hyperactivity-impulsivity (p=.001), scores of the ARS and the P-GBI score (p=.004) were significantly higher in children with ADHD than in their siblings. Deficits in social communication and motivation on SRS were higher in children with ADHD than in their siblings (p=.017 and p=.011, respectively). Z-scores of omission and commission errors as well as response time variability on visual CPT and omission errors on auditory CPT were in clinically significant range, and z-score of omission errors on auditory CPT was in borderline range in siblings. Omission (p=.018) and commission errors on Visual CPT (p=.007) were significantly higher in children with ADHD compared to their siblings. Recognition efficiency on Kim's Frontal Executive Function Task was lower in children with ADHD compared to their siblings, but in normal range in both groups. Stroop interference and figure fluency on Kims Frontal Executive Function Task were in borderline range in ADHD group, and figure fluency was in borderline range in siblings.
CONCLUSION
Our results support a preliminary evidence for mild degree of attention deficit in ADHD siblings. Further studies are needed to examine the cognitive functions of siblings with ADHD in larger samples.

Keyword

Attention; Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Executive Function; Siblings

MeSH Terms

Child*
Executive Function
Humans
Memory
Motivation
Parents
Reaction Time
Reference Values
Siblings*
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