Playroom Observations of Activity Level and Sustained Attention: Two-Year Stability

Abstract

The present study examined the 2-year stability of activity and attention measures as recorded in structured playroom observations. Subjects for the study were 48 boys, originally evaluated as outpatients in a child psychiatry clinic and seen again 2 years later at follow-up. Measures of gross and fine motor activity, sustained attention, and self-vocalization showed significant stability over the 2 years for both free play and restricted academic settings. Furthermore, several activity and attention measures showed significant improvement between referral and follow-up. These results suggest that the present playroom procedure measures aspects of hyperactive behavior that show some stability among a sample of clinic-referred boys.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1986

Notes/Citation Information

Dr. Milich was at the University of Iowa when the article was originally published.

Share

COinS