The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Symptom and Performance Validity Tests Among a Multiracial Sample Presenting for ADHD Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are commonly reported in individuals presenting for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evaluation. Performance validity tests (PVTs) and symptom validity tests (SVTs) are essential to ADHD evaluations in young adults, but extant research suggests that those who report ACEs may be inaccurately classified as invalid on these measures. The current study aimed to assess the degree to which ACE exposure differentiated PVT and SVT performance and ADHD symptom reporting in a multi-racial sample of adults presenting for ADHD evaluation. METHOD: This study included 170 adults referred for outpatient neuropsychological ADHD evaluation who completed the ACE Checklist and a neurocognitive battery that included multiple PVTs and SVTs. Analysis of variance was used to examine differences in PVT and SVT performance among those with high (≥4) and low (≤3) reported ACEs. RESULTS: Main effects of the ACE group were observed, such that high ACE group reporting demonstrated higher scores on SVTs assessing ADHD symptom over-reporting and infrequent psychiatric and somatic symptoms on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form. Conversely, no significant differences emerged in total PVT failures across ACE groups. CONCLUSIONS: Those with high ACE exposure were more likely to have higher scores on SVTs assessing over-reporting and infrequent responses. In contrast, ACE exposure did not affect PVT performance. Thus, ACE exposure should be considered specifically when evaluating SVT performance in the context of ADHD evaluations, and more work is needed to understand factors that contribute to different patterns of symptom reporting as a function of ACE exposure.

Differentiating Performance on the Connors Continuous Performance Test (CPT-3) as a Function of Comorbid Internalizing Psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE: Internalizing psychopathology commonly co-occurs with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Attention concerns are present in both ADHD and internalizing disorders, yet the neuropsychological functioning of those with comorbid ADHD and internalizing psychopathology is underexamined. METHOD: This study compared Conners' Continuous Performance Test-Third Edition (CPT-3) profiles across ADHD (n = 141), internalizing psychopathology (n = 78), and comorbid (ADHD/internalizing psychopathology; n = 240) groups. RESULTS: Compared to the internalizing psychopathology group, the comorbid group had higher mean T-scores on CPT-3 indices indicative of inattentiveness and impulsivity and more clinically elevated T-scores (T>60) on indices measuring inattentiveness and impaired sustained attention. Patients in the comorbid group were also more likely to have abnormal overall CPT-3 profiles (>2 elevated T-scores) than the ADHD and psychopathology only groups. CONCLUSION: Patients with comorbid ADHD/internalizing psychopathology may evidence a more impaired attentional performance on the CPT-3, which could aid in more tailored treatment planning.