Differentiating Type A behaviour and hyperactivity using observed motivation during a reaction time task
✍ Scribed by Lilianne Nyberg; Gunilla Bohlin; Lisa Berlin; Lars-Olof Janols
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2003
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 113 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1522-7227
- DOI
- 10.1002/icd.270
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
In light of the previously found overlap between Type A behaviour as measured by the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) and hyperactivity scales, the overall aim of this study was to clarify the standing of MYTH‐defined Type A behaviour relative to hyperactivity and Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), using observed task motivation and performance on a choice reaction‐time task, the Complex Reaction Time (CRT) measure. This study included 21 boys exhibiting Type A behaviour, 22 ADHD boys, 20 non‐clinically hyperactive boys, and 20 non‐hyperactive boys, between the ages of 6 and 13 years. It was proposed that a differentiation of constructs would be possible using observed task motivation if the MYTH were a discriminantly valid measure of Type A behaviour. Results showed that the MYTH‐defined Type A group differed from the clinically diagnosed ADHD group, although it was markedly similar to the non‐clinical hyperactive group, displaying comparable CRT performance and low level of task motivation. Type A behaviour correlated to CRT performance and task motivation in a way which was conceptually more indicative of hyperactivity than of Type A behaviour, which questions the validity of the MYTH as a measure of the Type A construct. The MYTH Impatience subscale was found to be particularly impure with regard to hyperactivity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.