Executive Function Profile of Chinese Boys with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Different Subtypes and Comorbidity.
Shuai, Lan 1; Chan, Raymond C.K. 2; Wang, Yufeng 1,*
[Article] Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 26(2):120-132, March 2011.

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This study examined the executive function (EF) profile of Chinese boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using a large sample. Executive function performance within the ADHD subtypes and the effects of comorbidity were also investigated. Five hundred Chinese boys (375 with ADHD and 125 controls) aged 6-15 completed a battery of EF tests. Boys with all types of ADHD performed worse in all of the EF tests than age- and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls. The boys with the inattention ADHD subtype and the combined subtype showed similar impairments across different EF tasks, whereas the boys with the hyperactive-impulsive ADHD subtype primarily displayed deficits in theory of mind and visual memory. Comorbid oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder had no additional influence on the EF characteristics of the boys with ADHD only, whereas comorbid learning disorder increased the severity of inhibition and shifting impairments.

(C) Copyright Oxford University Press 2011.