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Methylphenidate and Attributions in Boys With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Abstract
In Experiment 1, 28 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) boys underwent a double-blind, placebo-controlled medication assessment in a summer day-treatment program. Daily, boys were asked questions to assess their attributions for and evaluations of their behavior. Objective measures showed improved behavior with methylphenidate; however, boys tended to attribute their performance to effort rather than to medication, particularly when medicated. Experiment 2 involved 38 ADHD boys the following summer and replicated the procedures in Experiment 1, with the addition of a no-pill condition and a comparison of attributions for success and failure outcomes. Simply taking a pill (no-pill vs. placebo comparison) did not show significant effects, whereas the results of Experiment 1 were replicated with placebo–methylphenidate comparisons. Across drug conditions a self-enhancing attributional pattern was obtained; the majority of attributions for success were to ability or effort, whereas attributions for failure were to the pill or to counselors.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1992
Repository Citation
Pelham, William E.; Murphy, Debra A.; Vannatta, Kathryn; Milich, Richard; Licht, Barbara G.; Gnagy, Elizabeth M.; Greenslade, Karen E.; Greiner, Andrew R.; and Vodde-Hamilton, Mary, "Methylphenidate and Attributions in Boys With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" (1992). Psychology Faculty Publications. 100.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_facpub/100
Notes/Citation Information
This article was reprinted in Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development, 1993, pp. 242-265.