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Internal and External Validity of Self-Report and Parent-Report Measures of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in South Korean Adolescents

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Abstract

This study evaluated the internal and external validity of self-report and parent-report measures of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) in South Korean adolescents. Adolescents (N = 469, ages 13–17 years; 50.2% boys) completed self-report measures of SCT and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattention (ADHD-IN) in addition to measures of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, social problems, and grades. Parents rated adolescents on SCT, ADHD-IN, internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, and social problems. Using adolescent self-report, 11 of 15 SCT symptoms showed convergent and discriminant validity with ADHD-IN. Using parent-report, all 15 SCT symptoms showed convergent and discriminant validity with ADHD-IN. For within source analyses, SCT showed unique and stronger associations than ADHD-IN with internalizing psychopathology whereas ADHD-IN showed unique and stronger associations than SCT with externalizing psychopathology. SCT and ADHD-IN showed similar unique associations with social problems, whereas ADHD-IN was more strongly related than SCT to grades. Across source analyses also supported the differential unique associations of SCT and ADHD-IN with internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies. This study provides initial evidence for the internal and external validity of SCT with South Korean adolescents, extending support for the transcultural validity of SCT to the important developmental period of adolescence.

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Notes

  1. The SCT item lacks motivation to complete tasks (e.g., apathetic) consistently showed a stronger loading on the ADHD-IN than the SCT factor, thus this item was not retained in the final set of 15 SCT items shown in Table 1.

  2. The correlations of youth self-reported of the 11 SCT symptoms with the 3 YSR SCT items and 4 CBCL SCT items were .55 (p < .001) and .22 (p < .001), respectively. The correlations of the 15 parent-reported SCT symptoms with the 4 CBCL SCT items and 3 YSR SCT items were .51 (p < .001) and .17 (p < .01), respectively. The correlation of the 3 YSR SCT items with the 4 CBCL SCT items was .21 (p < .001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea

    So-Hee Jung

  2. Department of Child Welfare and Studies, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, 04310, South Korea

    SoYean Lee

  3. Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    G. Leonard Burns

  4. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Stephen P. Becker

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Jung, SH., Lee, S., Burns, G.L. et al. Internal and External Validity of Self-Report and Parent-Report Measures of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in South Korean Adolescents. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 43, 355–366 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-020-09821-8

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