Attention Deficit Disorder With and Without Hyperactivity: Comparison of Behavioral Characteristics of Clinic-referred Children

Abstract

Using a reliable assessment procedure, 41 clinic outpatients, 6–13 years of age, were given a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADD/H), and 22 outpatients were diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder without Hyperactivity (ADD/WO). Comparisons of measures involved in the diagnostic process showed that the ADD/H children were rated by teachers as being more impulsive. More importantly, comparisons of measures not used in the diagnoses showed that children with ADD/H were more likely to display a severe pattern of aggressive conduct disorder in spite of being younger at the time of assessment. In contrast, the ADD/WO group displayed a more sluggish cognitive tempo, was more likely to receive a codiagnosis of an anxiety or affective disorder, and tended to be rated as more anxious. The results were found not to be explainable by differences in age, intelligence, or socioeconomic status. These findings demonstrate that ADD/WO can be reliably diagnosed in a clinic sample and suggest that ADD/H and ADD/WO differ in important ways.