Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Abnormal Child Psychology: An Historical Overview and Introduction to the Special Section

@article{Becker2014SluggishCT,
  title={Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Abnormal Child Psychology: An Historical Overview and Introduction to the Special Section},
  author={Stephen P. Becker and Stephen A. Marshall and Keith Mcburnett},
  journal={Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology},
  year={2014},
  volume={42},
  pages={1-6}
}
There has recently been a resurgence of interest in Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) as an important construct in the field of abnormal child psychology. Characterized by drowsiness, daydreaming, lethargy, mental confusion, and slowed thinking/behavior, SCT has primarily been studied as a feature of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and namely the predominately inattentive subtype/presentation. Although SCT is strongly associated with ADHD inattention, research increasingly… 
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Highly Influential Citations
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93 Citations

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Citation Type

Uncovering a clinical portrait of sluggish cognitive tempo within an evaluation for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A case study
TLDR
A clinical description of SCT in a 7-year-old girl is provided, offering a real-life portrait of S CT while also providing an opportunity to qualitatively differentiate between SCT and ADHD, other psychopathologies, and potentially related domains of functioning.
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in a Child and Adolescent Clinical Outpatient Setting
TLDR
It is concluded that SCT symptoms are highly prevalent in a clinical sample, and that these symptoms might be related to the difficulties that some individuals have in responding to demands in their environments, such as academic or social demands, as they increase over time.
Advancing the study of sluggish cognitive tempo via DSM, RDoC, and hierarchical models of psychopathology
TLDR
It is argued that multiple models of psychopathology should be leveraged to make substantive advances to the understanding of SCT, and ways in which SCT might be examined within the RDoC framework, including negative valence systems, cognitive systems, and arousal/regulatory systems, as well as within hierarchical models ofopathology.
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Adults: Psychometric Validation of the Adult Concentration Inventory
TLDR
The findings support the use of the ACI in future studies examining SCT in adulthood and make a major contribution in moving the field toward a unified set of SCT items that can be used across studies.
Identification of sluggish cognitive tempo by pre-service teachers
Current research suggests that Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) is a distinct attentional disorder from Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that is characterized by a hypoactive, sluggish…
Topical review: sluggish cognitive tempo: research findings and relevance for pediatric psychology.
  • S. Becker
  • Psychology, Medicine
    Journal of pediatric psychology
  • 2013
TLDR
Recent research on sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is summarized and it is suggested that SCT is an important construct for pediatric psychologists to be aware of and may also be directly useful for the research and practice of pediatric psychology.
Sluggish cognitive tempo: longitudinal stability and validity
TLDR
The current investigation will focus on parent and teacher reports which assess attention deficit hyperactive/impulsive disorder (ADHD) and standardized achievement measures which assess academic outcomes and on the independent effects of SCT on behavioural and academic outcomes concurrently over a 3-year period.
Sluggish cognitive tempo and peer functioning in school-aged children: A six-month longitudinal study
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Behavioral Difficulties in Children with ADHD: Associations with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms
TLDR
Regression analyses revealed that for children with ADHD and high SCT routines may play an important role as an environmental support for externalizing symptoms, and Household and Daily Living routines were associated with lower levels of externalizing Symptoms.
Differentiating SCT and inattentive symptoms in ADHD using fMRI measures of cognitive control
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References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 44 REFERENCES
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Children: Factor Structure and Relations to Internalizing Symptoms, Social Problems, and Observed Behavioral Dysregulation
TLDR
Results of the CFA analyses demonstrated that SCT is distinct from these other dimensions of child psychopathology, including ADHD inattention, depression, and anxiety.
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Predicts a Different Pattern of Impairment in the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Inattentive Type
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TLDR
Although the 2 groups did not differ on level of attention or learning problems, high-SCT ADHD/IA children were rated by teachers as showing less externalizing behavior and higher levels of unhappiness, anxiety/depression, withdrawn behavior, and social dysfunction, support a reconsideration of SCT symptoms as a component of diagnostic criteria for a category of nonhyperactive attention deficit disorder.
Topical review: sluggish cognitive tempo: research findings and relevance for pediatric psychology.
  • S. Becker
  • Psychology, Medicine
    Journal of pediatric psychology
  • 2013
TLDR
Recent research on sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is summarized and it is suggested that SCT is an important construct for pediatric psychologists to be aware of and may also be directly useful for the research and practice of pediatric psychology.
Social and Academic Impairment in Youth with ADHD, Predominately Inattentive Type and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo
TLDR
The distinctiveness of the high-SCT group, which was primarily evident in social as opposed to academic functioning, provides partial support for the external validity and clinical utility of SCT.
Distinguishing sluggish cognitive tempo from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults.
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  • 2012
TLDR
It is concluded that SCT may be a separate disorder from ADHD yet with comorbidity occurring in approximately half of all cases of each, and contributed unique variance to EF deficits and psychosocial impairment apart from ADHD inattention and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.
The Association Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Academic Functioning in Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
TLDR
Both SCT and DSM-IV symptoms of inattention were significantly correlated with domains of academic functioning and Implications of these findings towards supporting the external validity of the SCT construct are discussed along with potential implications for intervention.
Sluggish cognitive tempo is associated with academic functioning and internalizing symptoms in college students with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
TLDR
These results fill an important gap in the literature by confirming SCT to be distinct from ADHD in emerging adulthood, demonstrating S CT to be strongly linked to college student adjustment, and providing support for the hypothesis that SCT is associated with psychosocial functioning in both individuals with and without ADHD.
The Relationship Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Impairment in Children With and Without ADHD
TLDR
The results indicated that the presence of SCT symptoms was associated with greater functional impairment in children with and without ADHD according to parent report while it was associatedWith less functional impairment at school according to teacher report.
Validity of the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Symptom Dimension in Children: Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD-Inattention as Distinct Symptom Dimensions
TLDR
A new measure of the sluggish cognitive tempo dimension was meaningfully independent from the ADHD-IN and anxiety/depression dimensions and suggests that such an SCT dimension may signify a distinct presentation of ADHD or a different (if highly comorbid) disorder altogether.
Attention Deficit Disorder Without Hyperactivity: A Distinct Behavioral and Neurocognitive Syndrome
TLDR
While no significant differences in cognitive ability were noted between groups, significant underachievement was found in the children diagnosed as ADDnoH, particularly in mathematics achievement.
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