WISC-IV performance of children with Chronic Tic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: results from a German clinical study

Sina Wanderer; Veit Roessner; Anja Strobel; Julia Martini

doi:10.1186/s13034-021-00392-4

WISC-IV performance of children with Chronic Tic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: results from a German clinical study

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2021 Aug 31;15(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s13034-021-00392-4.

Authors

Sina Wanderer¹, Veit Roessner¹, Anja Strobel², Julia Martini^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
² Department of Psychology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Wilhelm-Raabe-Str. 43, 09120, Chemnitz, Germany.
³ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany. [email protected].
⁴ Department of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany. [email protected].

Abstract

Background: Chronic Tic Disorder (CTD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are complex neuropsychiatric disorders that frequently co-occur. The aim of this study was to examine WISC-IV performance of a clinical cohort of children with CTD, OCD and/or ADHD.

Methods: N = 185 children aged 6 to 17 years from Germany with CTD, OCD and/or ADHD were examined with the WISC-IV that comprises four index scores (VCI: Verbal Comprehension Index, PRI: Perceptual Reasoning Index, WMI: Working Memory Index, PSI: Processing Speed Index) and a Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ). WISC-IV profiles of children with CTD-only, OCD-only, ADHD-only, CTD+ADHD, CTD+OCD and CTD+OCD+ADHD were compared with the WISC-IV norm (N = 1650, M = 100 and SD = 15) and among each other.

Results: Unpaired t-tests revealed that children with ADHD-only showed significant lower PSI scores, whereas children with CTD-only and OCD-only had significant higher VCI scores as compared to the German WISC-IV norm. One-way ANOVA revealed that children with ADHD-only showed significant lower WMI scores as compared to children with CTD+OCD.

Conclusions: We were able to confirm previous evidence on WISC-IV profiles in ADHD in a German clinical sample and contribute new findings on cognitive performance in children with (non-)comorbid CTD and OCD that have to be seen in light of the study's limitations.

Keywords: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Chronic Tic Disorder (CTD); Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD); Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children for Children (WISC).