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7470305 
Journal Article 
Linkages between childhood executive functioning and adolescent social functioning and psychopathology in girls with ADHD 
Rinsky, JR; Hinshaw, SP 
2011 
1 
Child Neuropsychology
ISSN: 0929-7049
EISSN: 1744-4136 
17 
4 
368-390 
English 
We followed an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of preadolescent girls with ADHD (n = 140) and matched comparison girls (n = 88) over a period of 5 years, from middle childhood through early/midadolescence, with the aim of determining whether childhood levels of executive function (EF) would predict adolescent multi-informant outcomes of social functioning and psychopathology, including comorbidity between externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. Predictors were well-established measures of planning, response inhibition, and working memory, along with a control measure of fine motor control. Independent of ADHD versus comparison group status, (a) childhood planning and response inhibition predicted adolescent social functioning and (b) childhood planning predicted comorbid internalizing/externalizing disorders in adolescence. Subgroup status (ADHD-Combined, ADHD-Inattentive, and comparison) moderated the relationship between childhood planning and adolescent internalizing/externalizing comorbidity, with the combined type revealing particularly strong associations between baseline planning and adolescent comorbidity. Mediation analyses indicated that adolescent social functioning mediated the prediction from childhood EF to comorbidity at follow-up; in turn, in the girls with ADHD, adolescent comorbidity mediated the prediction from childhood EF to social functioning at follow-up. We conclude that childhood interventions should target EF impairments in addition to behavioral symptoms. © 2011 Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business. 
ADHD; Executive functioning; Girls; Longitudinal; Psychopathology; Social functioning; adolescent; age; article; attention deficit disorder; case control study; child; child behavior; comorbidity; executive function; female; human; human relation; longitudinal study; mental disease; neuropsychological test; predictive value; psychological aspect; psychological rating scale; psychomotor performance; questionnaire; social adaptation; Wechsler Intelligence Scale; Adolescent; Age Factors; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child Behavior; Comorbidity; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Longitudinal Studies; Mental Disorders; Neuropsychological Tests; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychomotor Performance; Questionnaires; Social Adjustment; Wechsler Scales