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. 2018 Sep-Dec;18(3):254-263.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2018.06.003. Epub 2018 Aug 6.

Comparison between two continuous performance tests for identifying ADHD: Traditional vs. virtual reality

Celestino Rodríguez  1 , Débora Areces  1 , Trinidad García  1 , Marisol Cueli  1 , Paloma González-Castro  1
Affiliations

Comparison between two continuous performance tests for identifying ADHD: Traditional vs. virtual reality

Celestino Rodríguez et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2018 Sep-Dec.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Background/Objective: Continuous Performance Tests (CPTs) have demonstrated validity when differentiating children with ADHD from healthy controls. However, these CPTs have limitations such as low ecological validity. New CPTs based on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) have appeared as supposedly improved methods for assessing ADHD. This study aims to compare the discriminant value of attentional variables produced by a VR CPT (Aula Nesplora) with that of variables from a traditional CPT (Test of Variables of Attention; TOVA) for identifying ADHD. Method: A total of 338 children aged between 6 and 16 years old (M = 10.84, SD = 3.01) participated in the study: 31.95% correspond to the inattentive presentation, 15.38% to the impulsive-hyperactive presentation, 22.78% to the combined presentation, and the remaining 29.88% correspond to children without ADHD. Results: Results indicated that Aula Nesplora predicts ADHD presentations better than TOVA. It also differentiates better between ADHD and non-ADHD students. Conclusions: These findings show the potential advantages of using virtual reality in ADHD assessment, as it facilitates the diagnosis of ADHD and the differentiation of its presentations in a realistic environment.

Antecedentes/objetivos: Los tests de ejecución continua (Continuous Perfomance Test; CPT) han mostrado utilidad en la diferenciación de los niños con TDAH de los controles. Sin embargo, este tipo de tarea no está exenta de limitaciones como su baja validez ecológica. Para la mejora de la evaluación del Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad (TDAH) surgen en los últimos años los CPTs en realidad virtual. Este estudio tiene como objetivo comparar el valor discriminativo de las variables proporcionadas por un CPT basado en la realidad virtual (Aula Nesplora) con respecto a aquellas recogidas por un CPT tradicional (Test de variables de atención; TOVA) para identificar las distintas presentaciones de TDAH. Método: Participaron un total de 338 estudiantes de entre 6 y 16 años (M = 10,84; DT = 3,01): 31,95% correspondientes a la presentación inatenta, 15,38% presentación hiperactiva-impulsiva, 22,78% presentación combinada y 29,88% controles. Resultados: Los resultados indicaron que el Aula Nesplora predice mejor que el TOVA las presentaciones de TDAH, así como a los estudiantes sin TDAH. Conclusiones: Se discuten las ventajas del uso de la realidad virtual en evaluación del TDAH, ya que facilitan el diagnóstico del trastorno y la diferenciación de sus presentaciones.

Keywords: ADHD; CPT; Ex post facto study; TDAH; Traditional measures; Virtual reality; estudio ex post facto; medidas tradicionales; realidad virtual.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participants flow from enrolment and groups to final sample. Note: Group A= Aula Nesplora Assessment; Gruop B=TOVA Assessment; I = Inattentive presentation; IH = Impulsive and Hyperactivity presentation; C= Combined presentation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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