Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct;81(5):846-58.
doi: 10.1037/a0033536. Epub 2013 Jul 8.

Does childhood positive self-perceptual bias mediate adolescent risky behavior in youth from the MTA study?

Affiliations

Does childhood positive self-perceptual bias mediate adolescent risky behavior in youth from the MTA study?

Betsy Hoza et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: This study's primary aim was to examine whether the positive self-perceptual bias present in many youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Hoza et al., 2004; Hoza, Pelham, Dobbs, Owens, & Pillow, 2002) mediates the relation of childhood ADHD status to later risky behaviors.

Method: Using a subset of children with ADHD and comparison children (n = 645) from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With ADHD, we predicted that a positive bias in childhood would partially or fully mediate the relation between having ADHD and risky driving and sexual behaviors 8 years later.

Results: Results strongly supported this hypothesis for risky driving behavior but only provided limited support for risky sexual behavior.

Conclusions: Taken together, findings suggest that future research should explore whether self-perceptual bias may be a useful target of intervention for children with ADHD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hypothesized Model
Figure 2
Figure 2
Path model predicting driving illegally frequency Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on driving illegally frequency without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=604; *p<.05>
Figure 3
Figure 3
Path model predicting traffic violation frequency Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on traffic violation frequency without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=510; *p<.05>
Figure 4
Figure 4
Path model predicating the likelihood of having one’s license/permit suspended/revoked Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on license/permit suspended/revoked (1= yes; 0 = no) without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=425; *p<.05>
Figure 5
Figure 5
Path model predicting the choice to be sexually active Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on ever had sex (1= yes; 0= no) without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=406; *p<.05>
Figure 6
Figure 6
Path model predicting the number of lifetime sexual partners Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on the number of lifetime partners without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=287; *p<.05>
Figure 7
Figure 7
Path model predicting condom use Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on failure to always use condoms (fails to always use = 1 and always uses condoms = 0) without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=287; *p<.05>
Figure 8
Figure 8
Path model predicting age at first intercourse Note. PB= positive bias; standardized coefficients are reported. The effect of ADHD on age at first intercourse without PB included in the model is reported above the line (path C) and with PB included is reported below the line (path C’). Estimated childhood IQ, maternal-rated conduct disorder symptoms, and age at Time 2 were included as covariates; n=287; +p<.1>

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: Author; 1994.
    1. Barkley RA. Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin. 1997;121:65–94. - PubMed
    1. Barkley RA, Guevremont DC, Anastopoulos AD, DuPaul GJ, Shelton TL. Driving-related risks and outcomes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adolescents and young adults: A 3- to 5-year follow-up survey. Pediatrics. 1993;92:212–218. - PubMed
    1. Barkley RA, Murphy KR, DuPaul GJ, Bush T. Driving in young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Knowledge, performance, adverse outcomes, and the role of executive functioning. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 2002;8:655–672. - PubMed
    1. Begg DJ, Langley JD, Williams SM. A longitudinal study of lifestyle factors as predictors of injuries and crashes among young adults. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 1999;31:1–11. - PubMed

Publication types