Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Psychology

Sub-Department

College of Arts and Sciences

First Advisor

Scott Decker

Abstract

Differences in brain wave activity during resting states between adults with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been detected with electroencephalography (EEG). However, the relation between these patterns of brain wave activity and a dimensional, self-report measure of ADHD symptoms in male and female college students has never been investigated. The present study aimed to determine whether coherence, a measure of brain wave activity, can predict self-report symptoms of inattentiveness and hyperactivity in male and female college students. The analyses consisted of 14 male and 28 female adults between 18 and 27 years of age. Regression analyses were utilized to determine whether EEG coherence values were related to ADHD Current Symptoms Scale (CSS) scores of inattentiveness and hyperactivity in males and females by including sex as a covariate in the models. The current study found that several coherence measures across all frequency bands could significantly predict symptoms of inattentiveness and hyperactivity in male and female college students, consistent with prior research. Findings from this study provide preliminary evidence for including EEG in diagnostic assessments of ADHD in college settings.

Rights

© 2017, Tayllor Vetter

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