Abstract
This study examined the differential executive dysfunction of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and those with ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in Han Chinese. A total of 258 children (89 ADHD, 53 ADHD + ODD, 116 controls) completed performance-based executive function tests and had their everyday life executive skills rated by their parents using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Both the ADHD and ADHD + ODD groups performed worse than the controls in the Stroop and Trail-making tests and the BRIEF. The ADHD + ODD group were rated worse than the ADHD group on the BRIEF, but the two groups showed no significant difference in the performance-based tests. These findings suggest Han Chinese children with ADHD display executive dysfunction in performance-based tests and everyday life scenarios, in a similar way to findings in Western counterparts. However, children with ADHD + ODD showed more severe executive dysfunction in everyday life scenarios than those with ADHD only.
Acknowledgments
This research is funded by Ministry of Health grants (200802073) and Ministry of Science and Technology grants (2007BA117B03). We thank the anonymous reviewers for their advice and comments as well as the individuals who served as research participants.