Tele-Assessment of Executive Functioning in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms
Claudia Ceruti, Clara Bombonato, Agnese Capodieci, Andrea Frascari, Chiara Pecini, Carlotta Rivella, Costanza Ruffini, Laura Traverso, Maria Carmen Usai, Paola Viterbori, Gian Marco Marzocchi
The present study aimed to analyse the executive functioning of a sample of 59 children aged 7-13 with typical development or attentive/hyperactivity difficulties (ADHD symptoms), assessed on learning tests and neuropsychological tests (TeleFE), and evaluated by parents and teachers, through standardized questionnaires (Conners 3 and QUFE). Due to the large number of variables for each test, the main measures were extracted and selected. Working memory was the most deficient domain in children with ADHD symptoms, although not all analyses identified a deficit in this factor. For all the analysed variables, inattentive ADHD symptoms showed greater difficulties, representing the most dysexecutive form of ADHD. These findings were confirmed by the correlation analyses on the Conners 3 results, which, in addition, highlighted a concordance between teachers’ evaluations and executive functioning (in particular, general executive factor and memory). Likewise, teachers’ answers to the QUFE accurately discriminated the performance of those with ADHD symptoms and those without, highlighting greater difficulties in children with combined ADHD symptoms.
Keywords
Executive Functions, ADHD, Assessment, Working Memory, Inhibition, Shifting.