Stability of Attention Performance of Adults with ADHD over Time: Evidence from Repeated Neuropsychological Assessments in One-Month Intervals

Nana Guo, Janneke Koerts, Lara Tucha, Isabel Fetter, Christina Biela, Miriam König, Magdalena Bossert, Carsten Diener, Steffen Aschenbrenner, Matthias Weisbrod, Oliver Tucha and Anselm B. M. Fuermaier ()
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Nana Guo: Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
Janneke Koerts: Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
Lara Tucha: Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
Isabel Fetter: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, SRH Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, 76307 Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Christina Biela: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, SRH Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, 76307 Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Miriam König: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, SRH Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, 76307 Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Magdalena Bossert: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, SRH Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, 76307 Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Carsten Diener: Department of Applied Psychology, SRH University Heidelberg, 69123 Heidelberg, Germany
Steffen Aschenbrenner: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, SRH Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, 76307 Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Matthias Weisbrod: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, SRH Clinic Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, 76307 Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Oliver Tucha: Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands
Anselm B. M. Fuermaier: Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Neuropsychological assessments of attention are valuable sources of information in the clinical evaluation of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear whether the attention performance of adults with ADHD is stable or fluctuates over time, which is of great importance in the interpretation of clinical assessments. This study aimed to explore the stability of attention performance of adults with ADHD in repeated assessments at one-month intervals. Twenty-one adults diagnosed with ADHD took part in this study by completing selective attention and vigilance tests three times, each one month apart. Test scores of participants were compared with and interpreted based on test norms. A considerable proportion of ‘below average’ performance scores were observed in most of the variables of selective attention and vigilance in all three assessments. Further, selective attention and vigilance performance scores did not differ significantly between the three repeated assessments. Finally, the majority of participants received consistent test score interpretations across the three repeated assessments. This study confirms previous research and highlights abnormal selective attention and vigilance performance in adults with ADHD. Further, this study preliminarily demonstrates relatively stable attention performance across repeated assessments, which has the potential to support clinical assessment, treatment planning, and evaluation.

Keywords: adult ADHD; selective attention; vigilance; assessment; stability; fluctuation; variability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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