The association between hyperactive behaviour and cognitive inhibition impairments in young children

Burley, Daniel T., Anning, Kate L. and van Goozen, Stephanie H. M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5983-4734 2022. The association between hyperactive behaviour and cognitive inhibition impairments in young children. Child Neuropsychology 28 (3) 10.1080/09297049.2021.1976128

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Abstract

Hyperactivity is one of the core features of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and yet there is evidence that hyperactive behavior in children with ADHD is not ubiquitous and could be a compensatory response to high cognitive demands. No research has yet objectively measured hyperactive behavior in young children who are demonstrating early signs of ADHD or examined the role of emotional state on hyperactivity levels.The current study measured motor activity using actigraphy during baseline, cognitive inhibition (Flanker task), and emotion arousing (Impossibly Perfect Circles task) conditions in 95 children aged 4–7 years old with developmental difficulties, including emerging symptoms of ADHD. We examined the relationship between objectively recorded activity, parent-rated hyperactivity problems, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and cognitive inhibition task performance.Parent ratings of hyperactivity (but not inattention) symptoms were positively related to recorded hyperactivity, and this relationship was specific to activity measured during the cognitive inhibition task. Impaired cognitive inhibition performance was related to increased measured movement and this association was strongest in children who were rated as having the highest levels of hyperactive behavior.These findings confirm theoretically predicted associations between objectively recorded hyperactivity and impaired executive functioning and support the notion that hyperactivity in children emerges in response to high cognitive demands. The results encourage further investigation into the role of hyperactivity as a transdiagnostic dimension that can explain variation within and between different types of diagnostic classifications.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Additional Information:	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	0929-7049
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	14 September 2021
Date of Acceptance:	31 August 2021
Last Modified:	15 May 2023 09:23
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/144104

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