Date of Award:

5-1991

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Sebastian Striefel

Committee

Sebastian Striefel

Committee

Dennis Odell

Committee

Phyllis Cole

Committee

Keith Checketts

Committee

Michael Bertoch

Abstract

The cognitive and affective characteristics and responses to stimulant medication of children who were diagnosed as having attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (AD-HD) or undifferentiated-attention deficit disorder (UADD) were investigated using a pretest-posttest experimental design. Nineteen AD-HD and 17 UADD children were compared using unpaired t-tests, prior to initiation of stimulant medication, on measures of intellectual functioning, impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression and self-esteem. Children from both the AD-HD (n = 12) and UADD (n = 12) groups were then compared before and after a 3-month trial of stimulant medication on measures of impulsivity, problem behavior, and self-reported depression and self-esteem using repeated measures analyses of variance.

No significant differences were found between groups in cognitive ability, impulsivity, depression, self-esteem, anxiety, peer relationships, or social withdrawal. AD-HD children were found to exhibit more hyperactive, aggressive, and delinquent problem behavior. Significant improvement was found in both groups in self-reported depression and self-esteem following a trial of stimulant medication. A trial of stimulant medication was found to reduce hyperactive problem behavior in AD-HD children. Stimulant medication had a beneficial effect on peer relationships and aggressive problem behavior in UADD children but did not produce similar positive effects in AD-HD children. These results are discussed as in relationship to the issue of whether AD-HD and UADD are separate syndromes and to the previous literature regarding attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD/H) and attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (ADD/WO). Ramifications regarding appropriate treatment are also discussed.

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