Abstract
A temperamental rating scale, Parent Impression of Temperamental Traits (PITT), was completed by parents of 6 and 7 y.o. attentionally disordered males (n=17) and age/sex matched controls (N=17) to determine if the two groups varied with regard to 9 standard temperamental variables. The experimental group was defined as attentionally disordered by a multidisciplinary team on the basis of objective evidence of attentional inefficiency on a Matching Faces Attention Task (MFAT) and history of attentional weakness by report of parent and teacher on standardized questionnaires. Controls showed no evidence of attention weaknesses on the MFAT or questionnaires. Parent ratings on the PITT generated raw scores for each temperamental variable that correlated with the Carey Behavioral Style Questionnaire for all characteristics except mood.
Means and SD were calculated for the 9 variables for both groups and univariate t-values derived. The experimental group differed from the control on 6 variables: high activity level (t= 3.829,p<.01); low persistence (t=3.323,p<.01); high threshold (t= 3.723,p<.01); irregular rhythmicity (t=2.138,p<.05); slow adaptability (t=2.490,p<.05); high distractibility (t=2.192,p<.05).
This temperamental profile differs from those described for clinically similar MBD, learning disabled and “difficult” children. These results suggest that a structured characterization of a child's temperamental profile can facilitate differentiation of these categories and thereby enhance treatment specificity.
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Krak, E., Liden, C. & Oliver, T. 67 TEMPERAMENTAL PROFILE OF ATTENTIONALLY DISORDERED MALE CHILDREN. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 451 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00076
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00076