University of Groningen Attention in preschool children with and without signs of ADHD. Veenstra, J. IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 1995 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Veenstra, J. (1995). Attention in preschool children with and without signs of ADHD. Stichting Kinderstudies Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 10-02-2018
Attention in Preschool Children with and without Signs of ADHD Jan Veenstra
CIP-DATA KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG Veenstra, Jan Attention in preschool children with and without signs of ADHD / Jan Veenstra. - Groningen : Stichting Kinderstudies Thesis Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. - With ref. - With summary in Dutch. ISBN 90-71000-51-6 NUGI 711 Subject headings: attentional processes ; preschool children / ADHD. Stichting Kinderstudies (1995) Stichting Kinderstudies Postbus 785 9700 AT Groningen
RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN Attention in Preschool Children with and without Signs of ADHD Proefschrift ter verkrijging van het doctoraat in de Psychologische, Pedagogische en Sociologische Wetenschappen aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. F. van der Woude in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 14 december 1995 des namiddags te 1.15 uur precies door Jan Veenstra geboren op 18 februari 1961 te Klazienaveen
Promotores: Prof. Dr. A.F. Kalverboer Prof. Dr. P.L.C. van Geert
Contents Foreword Chapter 1. Introduction... 1 1.1 The Hyperactive Boy... 1 1.2 The Definition Problem... 2 1.3 Attention in Young Children: Plan of the Study... 5 References... 8 Chapter 2. Information Processing Theories and Ethology: Their Use for the Study of Attentional Processes in Preschool Children 11 2.1 Introduction... 11 2.2 Theories on Attention... 12 2.3 The Development of Attention... 19 2.3.1 Possible Explanations for Developmental Differences in the Speed of Processing... 19 2.3.2 Output-Related Processes: Age Differences... 20 2.3.3 Infancy Research: A Basis for a Developmental Model of Attention?... 24 2.3.4 Towards an Ethological Approach... 25 2.3.5 The Study of Attentional Processes of Preschool Children during Free Play... 26 2.4 The Non-Optimal Development of Attention... 28 2.4.1 Clinical Diagnosis of Attentional Problems... 28 2.4.2 Hypothesis on the Causes of Attentional Problems... 29 2.4.3 A Developmental Delay or a Structural Problem?... 31 2.4.4 The Study of ADHD from an Information Processing Point of View... 33 2.4.5 Attentional Processes of Preschool ADHD Children during Free Play... 35 2.5 Information Processing Theories and the Observation Approach. Where do They Meet?... 37 2.6 Research Questions... 38 References... 39
Chapter 3. Response Preparation and Response Inhibition in Preschool Children with and without Signs of ADHD... 47 3.1 Introduction... 47 3.2 Method... 51 3.2.1 Study 1: Response Preparation... 51 3.2.2 Study 2: Response Inhibition... 55 3.2.3 Behavioral Observations... 56 3.2.4 Data Analysis... 56 3.2.5 Operationalizations of the Hypotheses... 57 3.3 Results... 59 3.3.1 Study 1: Response Preparation... 59 3.3.2 Study 2: Response Inhibition... 64 3.4 Discussion and General Results... 70 Acknowledgements... 74 References... 74 Cha pter 4. Task Orientation in Preschool Childen with an d without signs of ADHD during a Free Play Situation... 77 4.1 Introduction... 77 4.2 Method... 81 4.2.1 Subjects... 81 4.2.2 Apparatus and Stimulus Objects... 84 4.2.3 Procedure... 86 4.2.4 Inter-rater Reliability... 87 4.2.5 Behavioral Categories... 87 4.2.6 Event Recording... 88 4.2.7 Design... 89 4.3 Results... 89 4.3.1 Developmental Study... 90 4.3.2 Clinical Study... 98 4.4 Discussion... 109 Acknowledgements... 113 References... 113
Chapter 5. Attentional and Behavioral Characteristics o f Preschool Children with Signs of ADHD... 117 5.1 Introduction... 117 5.1.1 Definition of the Disorder... 118 5.1.2 A Combination of Different Methods... 120 5.2 Method... 121 5.2.1 Subjects... 121 5.2.2 Procedure... 122 5.2.3 Design... 124 5.3 Results... 124 5.4 Discussion... 127 Acknowledgements... 130 References... 130 Chapter 6. Discussion... 133 6.1 Introduction... 133 6.2 Selecting Preschool ADHD Children... 134 6.3 The Development of Attention from an Information Processing Point of View... 137 6.4 Attentional Processes in Preschool ADHD Children from an Information Processing Point of View... 139 6.5 The Development of Task Orientation as Measured during Free Play... 141 6.6 Task Orientation in Preschool ADHD Children as Measured during Free Play... 143 6.7 Implications of this Study: Some Critical Remarks... 144 6.8 Recommendations for Further Research and Final Remarks... 146 References... 147 Summary... 151 Samenvatting... 159 Appendices Dankwoord
Foreword The underlying dissertation is the result of a study carried out during m y appointment as 'Assistent in Opleiding' (Junior Researcher) at the department of Developmental and Experimental Clinical Psychology of the University of Groningen. The main objective of the study was to contribute to the earl y diagnosis of ADHD children. A further objective was the application of tw o approaches that are widely used in the research programs in our department : the (ethological) observational approach and the (information processing ) experimental approach. That this objective was difficult to accomplish wil l become clear after reading the dissertation: the processes underlying th e ADHD disorder are difficult to study in preschool children, and the obser - vational approach is very different from the experimental approach, whic h makes a possible integration not at all easy. Most chapters in the dissertation are written with the objective of futur e publication. The consequences of this are that the the reader will sometime s be confronted with redundancy in different chapters, and a reference list after each chapter. The dissertation is accomplished under the supervision of my promotors, Prof. Dr. Lex Kalverboer and Prof. Dr. Paul van Geert and with advice from Dr. Jaap van der Meere, Dr. Herbert Hoytink, and Dr. Henk Kiers. As a gesture of my gratitude for their contributions, I wrote the dissertation in the plural form. I hope that the reader will enjoy reading my dissertation. Groningen, July 1995. Jan Veenstra. Foreword