ADHD Research Abstracts
from the Journal of Attention Disorders
Provided by Sam Goldstein, Ph.D.
Bridgett, D.J., & Walker, M.E. (2006).
Intellectual functioning in adults with ADHD:
A meta-analytic examination of full scale
I.Q. differences between adults with and
without ADHD. Psychological Assessment, 18,
1-14.
This investigation examined differences in
intellectual ability between adults with and
without ADHD using a meta-analytic review.
Thirty-three studies met inclusion criteria.
Primary analyses focused on 18 studies
representing over 1,000 adults with ADHD and
nearly 1,000 non-ADHD, non-clinical
comparisons using the Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale. Significant effect was
found such that adults with ADHD scored lower
than non-ADHD adults on intelligence
measures. However, the difference was small
and not clinically meaningful. The presence
of several moderators reflecting
characteristics of the ADHD samples and study
methodology suggested that only a subset of
adults with ADHD (e.g., those with comorbid
disorders) may experience lower general
intellectual ability relative to non-ADHD
comparison adults.
Clancy, T.A., Rucklidge, J.J., & Owen, D.
(2006). Road crossing safety in virtual
reality: A comparison of adolescents with
and without ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child
and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 203-215.
These authors investigated the potential
accident proneness of adolescents with ADHD
in a hazardous road crossing environment. An
immersive virtual reality traffic gap-choice
task was used to determine whether those with
ADHD show more unsafe road crossing behaviors
than controls. In a population of
participants, 13 to 17 years of age, those
with ADHD had a lower margin of safety,
walked slower, under-utilized the available
gap in oncoming traffic, showed greater
variability in road crossing behavior and
evidenced twice as many collisions as
compared to controls. No gender differences
were observed. The authors suggest that
virtual reality may help identify and educate
those at higher risk of being involved in
dangerous traffic situations.
