To examine the effects of time of day and playtime on hyperactive behaviour in children with ADHD, 14 boys with ADHD and 14 control children were observed and videotaped during a whole school day. Analyses reveal minor differential effects of time of day and playtime on the hyperactive behaviour of children with ADHD compared to control children for noisiness and out of seat behaviour. Children with ADHD show a stronger increase in hyperactive behaviour after playtime in the afternoon. These differential effects are important in the light of the management of children with ADHD in the classroom and of observations that commonly take place for both diagnosis and research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn.Washington, DC: APA .
2.
Anderson, K. L. and Revelle, W. (1994) ‘Impulsivity and Time of Day: Is Rate of Change in Arousal a Function of Impulsivity?’ , Journal of Personality and Social Psychology67: 334-344 .
3.
Anhalt K. , McNeil, C. B. and Bahl, A. B. (1998) ‘The ADHD Classroom Kit: A Whole-Classroom Approach for Managing Disruptive Behavior’ , Psychology in the Schools35: 67-79 .
4.
Antrop, I. , Roeyers, H. , Van Oost P. and Buysse, A. (2000) ‘Stimulation Seeking and Hyperactivity in Children with ADHD’ , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry41: 225-231 .
5.
Barkley, R. A. (1990) Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment, 1st edn.New York: The Guilford Press .
6.
Barkley, R. A. (1998) Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment, 2nd edn.New York: The Guilford Press .
7.
Barnard, G. W. , Robbins, L.Newman, G. and Carrera, F. (1984) ‘A Study of Violence Within a Forensic Treatment Facility’ , Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law12: 339-348 .
8.
Batejat, D., Lagarde, D., Navelet, Y. and Binder, M. (1999) ‘Evaluation de la capacité d’attention chez 10.000 enfants scolarisés âgés de 8 à 11 ans’, Archives Pédiatrics 6: 406-15.
9.
Berlyne, L. (1966) ‘Curiosity and Exploration’ , Science153: 25-33 .
10.
Brink, S. (1995) ‘Smart Moves: New Research Suggests That Folks from 8 to 80 Can Shape Up Their Brains with Aerobic Exercise’, US News & World Report, 76-84.
11.
Burns, G. L. , Boe, B. , Walsh, J. A. , Sommers-Flanagan, R. and Teegarden, L. (2001) ‘A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the DSM-IV ADHD and ODD Symptoms: What is the Best Model for the Organization of These Symptoms?’ , Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology29: 339-349 .
12.
Cammann, R. and Miehlke, A. (1989) ‘Differentiation of Motor Activity of Normally Active and Hyperactive Boys in Schools: Some Preliminary Results’ , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry30: 899-906 .
13.
Cohen, J. (1988) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edn.Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .
14.
Colquhoun, W. P. (1971) Biological Rhythms and Human Performance. New York: Academic Press .
15.
Demptster, F. N. (1988) ‘The Spacing Effect: A Case Study in Failure to Apply the Results of Psychological Research’ , American Psychologist42: 627-634 .
16.
Eysenck, H. J. (1967) The Biological Basis of Personality. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas .
17.
Ellis, M. J. (1984) ‘Play, Novelty and Stimulation Seeking’, in T. Yawkey and A. L. Pellegrini (eds) Child’s Play: Developmental and Applied, pp. 203-218. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .
18.
Gittelman, R. G. and Klein, D. (1985) ‘Hillside Behavior Rating Scale’ , Psycho-pharmancology Bulletin21: 898-899 .
19.
Gupta, S. (1991) ‘Effects of Time of Day and Personality on Intelligence Test Scores’ , Personality and Individual Differences12: 1227-1231 .
20.
Horne, J. A. and Östberg, O. (1976) ‘A Self-Assessment Questionnaire to Determine Morningness-Eveningness in Human Circadian Rhythms’ , International Journal of Chronobiology4: 97-110 .
21.
Huziak, J. J. (2001) ‘Latent Class Analysis of ADHD and Comorbid Symptoms in a Population Sample of Adolescent Female Twins’ , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Discipline42: 933-942 .
22.
Jacob, R. G. , O’Leary, D. K. and Rosenblad, C. (1978) ‘Formal and Informal Classroom Settings: Effects on Hyperactivity’ , Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology6: 47-59 .
23.
Jarrett, O. S. , Maxwell, D. M. , Dickerson, C. , Hoge, P. , Davies, G. and Yetley, A. (1998) ‘Impact of Recess on Classroom Behaviour: Group Effects and Individual Differences’ , The Journal of Educational Research92: 121-126 .
24.
Kuntsi, J. , Oosterlaan, J. and Stevenson, J. (2001) ‘Psychological Mechanisms in Hyperactivity: I Response Inhibition Deficit, Working Memory Impairment, Delay Aversion, or Something Else?’ , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry42: 199-210 .
25.
Larsen, R. J. (1985) ‘Individual Differences in Circadian Activity Rhythm and Personality’ , Personality and Individual Differences6: 305-311 .
26.
Lawrence, J. B. and Stanford, M. S. (1999) ‘Impulsivity and Time of Day: Effects on Performance and Cognitive Tempo’ , Personality and Individual Differences26: 199-207 .
27.
Lotze, M. , Treutwein, B. and Roenneberg, T. (2000) ‘Daily Rhythm of Vigilance Assessed by Temporal Resolution of the Visual System’ , Vision Research40: 3467-3473 .
28.
Manly, T. , Lewis, G. H. , Robertson, I. H. , Watson, P. C. and Datta, A. K. (2002) ‘Coffee in the Cornflakes: Time of Day as a Modulator of Executive Response Control’ , Neuropsychologia40: 1-6 .
29.
Morthon, M. L. and Diubaldo, D. (1983) ‘Circadian Differences in the Dichotic Processing of Voicing’ , International Journal of Neuroscience68: 43-52 .
30.
Morthon, L. L. and Kershner, J. R. (1991) ‘Effects of Time of Day on Neuro-psychological Testing as Measured by Dichotic Listening’ , International Journal of Neuroscience59: 241-251 .
31.
Muyskens, P. and Ysseldyke J. (1998) ‘Student Academic Responding Time as a Function of Classroom Ecology and Time of Day’ , The Journal of Special Education31: 411-424 .
32.
Neubauer, A. C. (1992) ‘Psychometric Comparison of Two Circadian Rhythm Questionnaires and Their Relationship with Personality’ , Personality and Individual Differences13: 125-131 .
33.
Oosterlaan, J. , Logan, G. D. and Sergeant, J. (1998) ‘Response Inhibition in AD/HD, CD, Comorbid AD/HD+CD, Anxious and Control Children: A Meta-Analysis of Studies with the Stop Task’ , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry39: 411-425 .
34.
Oosterlaan, J. , Scheres, A. , Antrop, I. , Roeyers, H. and Sergeant, J. (2000) Handleiding bij de Vragenlijst voor Gedragsproblemen bij Kinderen (VvGK) [Manual of the Rating scale for Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Children]. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger .
35.
Pelham, W. E. , Gnagy, E. M. , Greenslade, K. E. and Milich, R. (1992) ‘Teacher Ratings of DSM-III-r Symptoms for Disruptive Behavior Disorders’ , Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry31: 210-218 .
36.
Pisecco, S. , Huzinec, C. and Curtis, D. (2001) ‘The Effect of Child Characteristics on Teachers’ Acceptability of Classroom-Based Behavioral Strategies and Psychostimulant Medication for the Treatment of ADHD’ , Journal of Clinical Child Psychology30: 413-421 .
37.
Porrino, L. J. , Rapoport, J. L. , Behar, D. , Sceery, W. , Ismond, D. R. and Bunney, W. E. (1983) ‘A Naturalistic Assessment of the Motor Activity of Hyperactive Boys: I Comparison with Normal Controls’ , Archives of General Psychiatry40: 681-687 .
38.
Prinz, R. J.Moore, P. A. and Roberts, W. A. (1986) ‘Measurement of Childhood Hyperactivity’, in R. J. Prinz (ed.) Advances in Behavioural Assessment of Children and Families, vol. 2, pp. 99-119. Greenwich, CT: JAI .
39.
Roberts, M. A. (1990) ‘A Behavioral Observation Method for Differentiating Hyperactive and Aggressive Boys’ , Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology18: 131-142 .
40.
Song, J. and Stough, C. (2000) ‘The Relationship Between Morningness-Eveningness, Time-of-Day, Speed of Information Processing, and Intelligence’ , Personality and Individual Differences29: 1179-1190 .
41.
Spencer, H. (1898) The Principles of Psychology, 2nd edn.New York: Appleton .
42.
Steadman, H. J. (1982) ‘A Situational Approach to Violence’ , International Journal of Law and Psychiatry5: 171-186 .
43.
Stormont, M. and Zentall, S. S. (1999) ‘Assessment of Setting in the Behavioral Ratings of Preschoolers With and Without High Levels of Activity’ , Psychology in the Schools36: 109-115 .
44.
Tankova, I. , Adan, A. and Buela-Casal, G. (1994) ‘Circadian Typology and Individual Differences: A Review’ , Personality and Individual Differences16: 671-684 .
45.
Taylor, E. , Chadwick, O. , Heptinstall, E. and Danckaerts, M. (1996) ‘Hyper-activity and Conduct Problems as Risk Factors for Adolescent Development’ , Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry35: 1213-1226 .
46.
Teicher, M. H. , Ito, Y. , Glod, R. N. and Barber, N. I. (1996) ‘Objective Measurement of Hyperactivity and Attentional Problems in ADHD’ , Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry35: 334-342 .
47.
Toppino, T. C. , Kasserman, J. E. and Mracek, W. E. (1991) ‘The Effect of Spacing Repetitions on the Recognition Memory of Young Children and Adults’ , Journal of Experimental Child Psychology51: 123-138 .
48.
Willcutt, E. G. , Hartung, C. M.Lahey, B. B. , Loney, J. and Pelham, W. E. (1999) ‘Utility of Behavior Ratings by Examiners During Assessments of Preschool Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder’ , Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology27: 463-472 .
49.
Wilson, G. D. (1990) ‘Personality, Time of Day and Arousal’ , Personality and Individual Differences11: 153-168 .
50.
Zagar, R. and Bowers, N. D. (1983) ‘The Effect of Time of Day on Problem Solving and Classroom Behavior’ , Psychology in the Schools20: 337-345 .
51.
Zentall, S. S. (1975) ‘Optimal Stimulation as Theoretical Basis of Hyper-activity’ , American Journal of Orthopsychiatry45: 549-563 .
52.
Zentall, S. S. (1984) ‘Context Effects in the Behavioral Ratings of Hyper-activity’ , Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology12: 345-352 .
53.
Zentall, S. S. and Zentall, T. R. (1976) ‘Activity and Task Performance of Hyperactive Children as a Function of Environmental Stimulation’ , Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology44: 693-697 .
