Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms as Function of Arousal and Executive Vigilance: Testing the Halperin and Schulz’s Neurodevelopmental Model in an Adult Community Sample

Halperin and Schulz's neurodevelopmental model postulates that the onset of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood is due to subcortical alterations, whereas the disorder trajectory into adulthood depends on the development of executive functions. Based on a dimensional framework of ADHD, Coll-Martín et al. (2021) found support for the model in an adult community sample assessed in arousal and executive vigilance. The present study is a preregistered (https://osf.io/tkdq7) close replication of Coll-Martín et al. with stricter control of statistical error rates to test the two hypotheses of the model. A sample of university students (N = 292 valid; 49% women) completed self-reports of ADHD symptoms in childhood (retrospectively) and adulthood and performed the online version of an attentional task (the ANTI-Vea). Our preregistered hypotheses achieved an acceptable statistical power for the effects of interest, even after accounting for measurement error. Despite this, only the unexpected negative correlation between executive vigilance and symptoms in childhood was significant, therefore refuting the theoretical predictions. Similarly, neither multiverse nor exploratory analyses supported the dissociation pattern proposed by the neurodevelopmental model. ADHD symptoms across the lifespan may be pathophysiologically identical, at least in terms of vigilance. Future studies could include complementary assessment methods and clinical groups.