Thesis (MPsychology(Clinical))--University of South Australia, 2001.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Questions continue to be raised about the language abilities of children who have a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Recent conceptualisations of ADHD and also of language difficulties have acknowledged that aspects of context may contribute to the manifestations of these complex conditions. In the past, investigations of the language of children who had a diagnosis of ADHD appear to have been hampered by reliance on models of language impairment that emphasised formally measured language abilities and largely disregarded the role of context. This thesis describes a study designed to test the hypothesis that important differences in language use exist between children who have a diagnosis of ADHD and their non-ADHD peers, when specific language impairment has been excluded. A second goal of the study was to investigate the impact of aspects of context, specifically text type and mode of expression, on the language use of these children. The study was community-based. Attempts were made to match the children for age (eight to twelve years), gender, level of education, and socio-economic status. Two standardised language tests were administered to each child, and only children who had achieved results within the normal range were accepted into the study. The sample group consisted of eleven children who had a previous diagnosis of ADHD, and eleven control children. Discourse analysis based on a Systemic Functional Linguistics approach was used to describe spoken and written samples from three different examples of text type that were created by each child. Comparisons were made for multiple variables, and any observed differences were examined using a combination of quantitative and descriptive techniques. The results showed differences between the groups for clause structure, thematic structure, macro textual organisation, lexico-grammar, behaviours surrounding spoken language, and conventions of written language. There were differences noted in the way the text type and the mode of expression appeared to affect the outcomes. The differences were discussed and interpreted as evidence of a greater degree of difficulty shown by the children with ADHD with regard to the organisation and complexity of their texts. Clinical implications suggest that careful linguistic analysis of spoken as well as written language of children with ADHD may be warranted even in the absence of the diagnosis of specific language impairment. Such analyses may not only identify potentially problematic areas with respect to language use within everyday contexts, but may also highlight areas where particular intervention may be beneficial.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is a widely used and available self-report measure designed to assess clinical syndromes and has the potential to assist in the process of ADHD assessment. Since the PAI's inception, several researchers have attempted to create other supplemental indicators, some so effective and useful that they were added to the second edition of the Personality Assessment Inventory Professional Manual. Previous researchers have offered important insights into the possibility of the creation of an ADHD item-level index for the PAI that would effectively decrease false positive rates and increase accurate detection of ADHD in the adult population. Previous researchers were not successful in creating an item-level subscale that reliably detected adult ADHD. Four experts in ADHD assessment rated PAI items that they believed could discriminate adults with ADHD from adults without ADHD. After performing a PCA on the top 16 items chosen by the experts, 12 items sufficiently loaded onto one factor that has clear face validity by conceptually matching the DSM-5 description of inattention and impulsivity commonly seen in adults with ADHD as well as the "internalized restlessness" Hallowell and Ratey describe for adult ADHD. The PAI-ADHD was found to have good internal consistency, a = .84. The PAI-ADHD has good convergent validity with the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale – Self-Report – Long Version (CAARS-Self) and Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS). The PAI-ADHD also has good concurrent validity. Two cut scores are suggested, 13 and 22, to maximize sensitivity (.88) and specificity (.89), create three screening groups: ruled-out, at-risk, and probable ADHD, and increase utility for clinicians.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2007. / Title from title page screen, viewed on March 11, 2008. Dissertation Committee: Steven E. Landau (chair), Alycia M. Hund, Dawn M. McBride, Glenn D. Reeder, Susan K, Sprecher. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-182) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-51).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Rosemary Tannock. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-102).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-81).