The development of state regulation in normal children: An indirect comparison with children with ADHD

The goal of this study was to evaluate the developmental trajectory of resp onse inhibition and state regulation in 60 nonreferred boys ranking in age from 7 to 12 years. For this purpose, we used a go-no go test that was deri ved from Sanders's (1983) theory of state regulation, in this test, go-no g o stimuli were presented on a monitor with a presentation rate of 1 sec (fa st condition), 4 sec (medium condition), or 8 sec (slow condition). In acco rdance with Sanders's theory, we hypothesized that, if state regulation dev elops in the elementary school years, then the youngest age group (7 and 8 years) would demonstrate poor impulse control, particularly in the fast and slow conditions, in which state regulation was assumed to be essential. Ou r hypothesis was supported. Findings reflected a developmental course in st ate regulation in the elementary school years. We discuss the clinical impa ct of the results with reference to attention deficit hyperactivity disorde r.