Abstract
Background: Impulsivity is viewed as key to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). Yet, to date, no work has provided an item-level analysis in longitudinal samples across the critical developmental period from childhood into adolescence, despite prior work suggesting items exhibit differential relevance with respect to various types of impairment. The current study conducted a novel longitudinal network analysis of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms between childhood and adolescence, with the important applied prediction of social skills in adolescence. Methods: Participants were 310 children over-recruited for clinical ADHD issues followed longitudinally for six years in total with gold standard diagnostic procedures and parent and teacher ratings of symptoms and social outcomes. Results: Findings from baseline, Year 3, and Year 6 suggested Difficulty waiting turn, Blurts, and Interrupts/intrudes were key bridge items across cross-sectional and longitudinal parent-reported DBD networks. Furthermore, shortened symptom lists incorporating these symptoms were stronger predictors of teacher-rated social skills 5 years later compared to total DBD scores. Conclusions: Such findings are consistent with the trait impulsivity theory of DBD and ADHD and may inform useful screening tools and personalized intervention targets for children at risk for DBD during adolescence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 52-63 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Funding
The authors thank all participants for making this work possible. The efforts on this project by M.W.S., was partially supported by the National Institute of Mental Health under award number K23MH126211. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. The datasets generated and analyzed for the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Key points Youth with ADHD are at a substantially higher risk of developing other forms of psychopathology, particularly ODD, a specific type of DBD. The comorbidity between ADHD and ODD appears to occur through mechanisms of impulsivity, yet little work has examined this association longitudinally at the item level. Using dynamic symptom-level network analysis within a longitudinal design across three points spanning from childhood to adolescence, findings showed that a subset of symptoms, including two impulsivity symptoms (e.g., blurts, interrupts) explained the association between ADHD and ODD. A composite score of these specific symptoms showed greater ability in predicting teacher-rated social skills 5 years later relative to a total DBD composite score. Assessment and treatment protocols can be designed to better target specific symptoms, including impulsivity, to mitigate long-term negative outcomes. Youth with ADHD are at a substantially higher risk of developing other forms of psychopathology, particularly ODD, a specific type of DBD. The comorbidity between ADHD and ODD appears to occur through mechanisms of impulsivity, yet little work has examined this association longitudinally at the item level. Using dynamic symptom-level network analysis within a longitudinal design across three points spanning from childhood to adolescence, findings showed that a subset of symptoms, including two impulsivity symptoms (e.g., blurts, interrupts) explained the association between ADHD and ODD. A composite score of these specific symptoms showed greater ability in predicting teacher-rated social skills 5 years later relative to a total DBD composite score. Assessment and treatment protocols can be designed to better target specific symptoms, including impulsivity, to mitigate long-term negative outcomes. The authors thank all participants for making this work possible. The efforts on this project by M.W.S., was partially supported by the National Institute of Mental Health under award number K23MH126211. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. The datasets generated and analyzed for the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Key points
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Institute of Mental Health | K23MH126211 |
Keywords
- ADHD
- developmental psychopathology
- impulsivity
- longitudinal studies
- oppositional defiant disorder
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
