Abstract
The primary objective of this study was to determine whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and a non-clinical (NC) group of learners perform differently on the Senior South African Individual Scale Revised (SSAIS-R). The rationale for this study is based on literature that argues for SCT to be considered as a separate and unique disorder to ADHD. The SSAIS-R results of 618 (7–17 years of age) children were analysed for the purposes of this study. The total sample consisted of three groups, that is, ADHD (n = 106), NC (n = 427) and SCT (n = 85). Between-group t-tests were performed to test for significant differences between the three groups with regard to the different SSAIS-R subtests. The results indicated significant differences between NC and ADHD, NC and SCT but not between ADHD and SCT. These results suggest that if SCT is considered to be a separate disorder from ADHD, then this is not evident in terms of the performance on the SSAIS-R. It is recommended that other cognitive and neuropsychological assessments be included in future research to ascertain whether SCT, if it exists, affects performance differently to ADHD.
Highlights
Many factors, such as psychosocial factors, learning disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders, as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) may affect the academic performance of South African learners
When looking at the effect sizes (Cohen’s d), it can be seen that despite significant differences the effect sizes were small to medium indicating that in the verbal subtests the Senior South African Individual Scale-Revised (SSAIS-R) were not good predictors in distinguishing between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), NC and SCT
This study investigated the differences in performance of ADHD, SCT and NC on the SSAIS-R
Summary
Many factors, such as psychosocial factors, learning disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders, as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) may affect the academic performance of South African learners. One of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is not a homogeneous disorder (Wilens & Spencer, 2010) as it is erroneously accepted by many practitioners. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a complicated, heterogeneous disorder as characterised by the different subtypes described in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013). An additional problem is clinically subthreshold symptoms and comorbid disorders, which complicates the diagnostic process. These problems may result in either over- or mis-diagnosis of ADHD (Barkley, 2013). There seems to be a lack of standardised diagnostic procedures to assist with making a clear diagnosis
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