Academic functioning in children with and without sluggish cognitive tempo

Abstract

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is increasingly conceptualized as a transdiagnostic set of symptoms associated with poorer functional outcomes, although the extent to which SCT is associated with academic functioning remains unclear. This study recruited children based on the presence or absence of clinically elevated SCT symptoms, using a multi-informant and multi-method design to provide a comprehensive examination of academic functioning in children with and without clinically elevated SCT symptoms. Participants were 207 children in Grades 2–5 (ages 7–11 years; 63.3% male), including 103 with clinically elevated teacher-reported SCT symptoms and 104 without elevated SCT, closely matched on grade and sex. A multi-informant, multi-method design that included standardized achievement testing, curriculum-based measurement (CBM), grades, classroom and laboratory observations, and parent and teacher rating scales was used. Children with elevated SCT symptoms had poorer academic functioning than their peers across most domains examined. Specifically, compared to children without SCT, children with elevated SCT had significantly lower grade point average (d = 0.42) and standardized achievement scores (ds = 0.40–0.77), poorer CBM performance including lower productivity (ds = 0.39–0.51), poorer homework performance and organizational skills (ds = 0.58–0.85), and lower teacher-reported academic skills (ds = 0.63–0.74) and academic enablers (ds = 0.66–0.74). The groups did not significantly differ on percentage of time on task during classroom observations or academic enabler interpersonal skills. Most effects were robust to control of family income, medication use, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattentive symptoms, although effects for motivation and study skills academic enablers were reduced. This study demonstrates that children with clinically elevated SCT symptoms have wide-ranging academic difficulties compared to their peers without SCT. Findings point to the potential importance of assessing and treating SCT to improve academic outcomes.