Background: Previous research indicates that stress has less effect on the neurobiology of children with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) in comparison with a controlgroup, and it has a negative...Show moreBackground: Previous research indicates that stress has less effect on the neurobiology of children with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) in comparison with a controlgroup, and it has a negative effect on executive functions (EF). Children with DBD show deficits in EF. Goal: To examine the effect of stress on the EF of children with DBD. The research question is: To what extent do the EF of children in the age of 7 to 12 years who suffer from DBD, differ from the EF of children in the controlgroup during stress? Methods: 72 Dutch boys participated in this study. The following EF were examined: sustained attention, shifting, working memory and inhibition. This has been measured through parent reports on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and three cognitive subtests of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT). Stress was induced by: telling the child it was going to play a competition against another child which he thought he was going to loose and by negative feedback from the opponent. To test the differences a t-test and ANOVA were used. Results: According to their parents, children with DBD score significant (p<.05) worse on inhibition, working memory and shifting in comparison with the controlgroup. Also there is a significant maineffect of group on sustained attention. Thus children with DBD show deficits in EF. There is a significant maineffect of stress on the following EF: sustained attention, inhibition and shifting. Thus stress reduces the performance on EF. There is no reciprocal influence between stress and group. Conclusion: Children with DBD show deficits in EF. Stress has a negative influence on inhibition, shifting and sustained attention. The groups don’t differ in combination with stress. All children need help in coping with stress, especially children with DBD, because the show deficits in EF during both situations.Show less
