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ADHD and Stroop interference from age 9 to age 41 years: a meta-analysis of developmental effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2008

K. Schwartz  and
P. Verhaeghen
K. Schwartz*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Center for Health and Behavior, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
P. Verhaeghen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Center for Health and Behavior, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: K. Schwartz, 430 Huntington Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-2340, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

In this meta-analysis, we investigated whether response inhibition is sensitive to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) status and, if so, what influence maturation has on this attentional symptom of ADHD.

Method

We examined 25 studies that reported data on the Stroop color word test in children and adults with ADHD and in age-matched controls; average ages ranged from 9 to 41 years. We utilized a hierarchical approach to analyze the strength of the Stroop effect and whether the effect varies as a function of age. Additionally, we assessed potential differences in maturation rates based on reaction time (RT) of color and color-word conditions.

Results

First, we found that the relationship between color-word and color RT was multiplicative, and the slope of this function (the ratio of color-word RT over color RT) was identical across age groups and ADHD status. Second, we found that although ADHD individuals were on average 1.14 times slower than age-matched controls in both the color and the color-word condition, the maturation rate was identical for both groups.

Conclusions

The results from this analysis indicate that the Stroop interference effect is not larger in ADHD individuals than in age-matched controls. Further, we did not find evidence for differential maturation rates for persons with ADHD and the control groups. The Stroop interference effect appears to be immune to age, regardless of ADHD status.

Keywords

ADHDmaturation ratesresponse inhibitionStroop color word test
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 38 , Issue 11 , November 2008 , pp. 1607 - 1616
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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