Meta-analysis of intellectual and neuropsychological test performance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Cognitive measures are used frequently in the assessment and diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this meta-analytic review, the authors sought to examine the magnitude of differences between ADHD and healthy participants on several commonly used intellectual and neuropsychological measures. Effect sizes for overall intellectual ability (Full Scale IQ; FSIQ) were significantly different between ADHD and healthy participants (weighted d =.61). Effect sizes for FSIQ were significantly smaller than those for spelling and arithmetic achievement tests and marginally significantly smaller than those for continuous performance tests but were comparable to effect sizes for all other measures. These findings indicate that overall cognitive ability is significantly lower among persons with ADHD and that FSIQ may show as large a difference between ADHD and control participants as most other measures.