A-195: Is Subjective Sleep Quality Associated With Intraindividual Variability in Attention, Working Memory, Speed, and Executive Function in Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Abstract

Objective: The extant literature suggests adults with ADHD demonstrate elevated across-task intraindividual variability (IIV) on objective neuropsychological tests. It’s well-established that subjective sleep quality is prevalent among ADHD populations and is differentially associated with cognition (e.g., sleep-related deficits observed in processing attention/working memory/executive function (EF)). This study examined associations between subjective sleep quality and IIV in attention, working memory, speed, and EF in adults with ADHD. Method/Data Selection: Participants included 396 adults diagnosed with ADHD (Mage=29.91, SD=8.09; Medu=16.14, SD=2.36; 60.4% Female; 37.9% White) following comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Variables included Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score and attention/working memory/speed/EF tests (i.e., WAIS-IV Digit Span, Letter-Number, Symbol Search, Coding; Trail Making Test; Stroop Color-Word; select Connors Continuous Performance Test (CPT-3) scales). Coefficient of variation (CV) was used to examine IIV across tests. A one-way ANCOVA examined PSQI-CV associations. Results/Data Synthesis: CV was calculated across standardized T-scores from performance on neuropsychological measures of attention, working memory, speed, and EF (MCV%=20.8, SDCV%=5.9). After controlling for estimated premorbid intellectual functioning and trauma-related symptoms, PSQI global score was not significantly associated with intraindividual variability across attention/working memory/speed/EF tests (F(1,367) = 1.19, p = .28, partial η2 = .003). Conclusions: Subjective sleep quality was not associated with IIV across neuropsychological measures of attention/working memory/speed/EF among adults with ADHD, suggesting subjective sleep quality may have limited utility in explaining variability in cognitive performance. Null findings may reflect well-established limitations of self-report data rather than genuine lack of association between sleep and IIV. Future research should examine these associations among ADHD populations with objective sleep measures.