Sex Differences in Attentional Performance in a Clinical Sample With ADHD of the Combined Subtype

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the present study was to assess whether girls with ADHD express similar deficits in various attention tasks to those described in boys.

Method: A total of 175 children with the combined subtype of ADHD (89 females) and 132 normal controls (60 females) aged 8 to 14 years participated. Five different tests were conducted: alertness, sustained attention, focused attention, divided attention, and a set-shifting task.

Results: The children with ADHD performed worse on all aspects of attention compared with healthy control participants. Several overall general sex differences could be detected, with boys exhibiting faster reaction times and greater response variability. Controlling for ADHD symptom severity and psychiatric comorbidities, no Sex × Diagnosis interaction was found, suggesting that males and females with ADHD experience comparable attentional deficits.

Conclusion: These results indicate that deficits in various attentional domains are a robust component of ADHD in males and females.

Keywords: ADHD; cognitive functioning; sex.