Date of Award

Fall 12-1-1997

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jerome Cerny

Second Advisor

Thomas Johnson

Third Advisor

Virgil Sheets

Abstract

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic disorder of childhood. The essential are developmentally inappropriate degrees of tures of it ttention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The current study tested the ecological validity of a continuous rformance test (CPT) that is commonly used to assess ADHD. Forty-·eiqht children between the ages of 6 and 14 were administered lhc Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.). The partic ' parents completed The Attention Deficit Di Evaluation Scale-Home Version (ADDES-HV) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The children's teacher completed The Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation ScaleSchool Version (ADDES-SV) and the Teacher's Repo Form (TRF). Pearson r correlations were used to examine the relationships between variables on the T.O.V.A., which reportedly measure inattention and impulsivity, and the scale scores on the ADDES-HV and ADDES-SV, which provide scores for Inattentive, Impulsive, and Hyperactive behaviors. It was hypothesized that there would be significant positive correlations between the T.O.V.A. variables which measure inattention and impulsivity, namely the omission, commission, reaction time, and variability scores, and corresponding Inattentive and Impulsive scale scores on the ADDES-IN and SV. The results of this study showed low to moderate correlations belwcen the commission measure from the T.O.V.A. and the Hyperaclive Scale of both the ADDES-HV and ADDES-SV. The omission variable from the T.O.V.A. was also positively and significantly correlated with the Hyperactive Scale of the ADDES-HV. Contrary to expectations, the results did nol reveal significant correlations between the Inattentive scale from the ADDESes and the three measures of ina L tent :ion from the T.O.V.A.

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