Erroneous conclusions: The impact of failing to identify invalid symptom presentation when conducting adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) research. Psychol Assess 2019 Sep;31(9):1174-1179
Date
07/26/2019Pubmed ID
31343208DOI
10.1037/pas0000752Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85071347619 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 12 CitationsAbstract
Invalid symptom report during assessment confounds the differential diagnosis process. This study examined differences in neuropsychological functioning between individuals diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression and/or anxiety disorders before and after participants meeting diagnostic criteria for malingered neurocognitive dysfunction were excluded. One hundred sixty-one adult patients undergoing ADHD assessment [M age 27.98 (8.35)] were evaluated and assigned to one of two groups based on medical records, a clinical interview, and self-report measures (depression/anxiety disorder n = 85; ADHD and depression/anxiety disorders n = 76). When all patients were considered, individuals with comorbid ADHD and depression/anxiety symptoms performed more poorly on 10 of 18 neuropsychological measures compared with those with only a depression/anxiety disorder (Cohen's d ranged from .32 to .72). In contrast, there was no evidence that the cumulative effect of ADHD and depression/anxiety resulted in diminished cognitive performance after excluding 54 patients with invalid symptom presentation. Additionally, the magnitude of association between self-report of ADHD symptoms and performance on neuropsychological test measures decreased dramatically. Thus, it is imperative that researchers administer performance and symptom validity measures to identify invalid symptom presentation when conducting large-scale studies. The failure to do so may result in inaccurate conclusions regarding the neurocognitive functioning of patients with ADHD and comorbid conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Author List
Hoelzle JB, Ritchie KA, Marshall PS, Vogt EM, Marra DEAuthor
Elisabeth M. Vogt PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAnxiety
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Depression
Diagnosis, Differential
False Positive Reactions
Female
Humans
Male
Malingering
Neuropsychological Tests
Reproducibility of Results
Research Design
Self Report
