An Analysis of Attentional Components in Hyperactive and Normal Boys

Abstract

Attentional performance was examined in hyperactive and normal 10 and 14 yearold boys. The children participating in the present study were administered a series of measures hypothesized to test three components of attention: coming to attention, decision making, and sustaining attention to a task over time. Multivariate analyses followed by univariate tests indicated that both age groups of normal children were superior to hyperactive children in attentional performance while hyperactive adolescents demonstrated significant improvement with age only in the area of coming to attention. Findings were interpreted to suggest that while activity levels of hyperactive children may diminish at adolescence, hyperactive adolescents still continue to be impulsive and impaired in attention. Correlational analyses yielded low but statistically significant relationships among the attentional measures, but no significant relationships between IQ and the attention test scores. Findings were consistent with the interpretation that the three hypothesized components of attention are independent of intelligence.