Self-Reported Mindful Attention and Awareness, Go/No-Go Response-Time Variability, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Julian R Keith, Mallory E Blackwood, Rano T Mathew, Len B Lecci
Mindfulness December 12, 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0655-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 151 |
| Population | Adult volunteers ages 18 to 40; 100 with confirmed ADHD diagnoses and 51 control participants |
| Measures | Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), World Health Organization Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention ADHD Tova Go/no-go |
| Key findings | Participants with prior ADHD diagnoses scored lower on the MAAS than controls, and ASRS scores were strongly negatively correlated with MAAS scores. TOVA attention performance index, response time, and response-time variability were positively correlated with MAAS and negatively correlated with ASRS; intrasubject response-time variability, associated with attention lapses, was strongly negatively correlated with MAAS. |
Abstract
The abilities to stabilize the focus of attention, notice attention lapses, and return attention to an intended object following lapses are precursors for mindfulness. Individuals diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are deficient in the attentional and self-control skills that characterize mindfulness. The present study assessed the relationship between mindfulness and ADHD in young adults using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), a computerized Go/No-Go task (the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA)), the World Health Organization Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS), a tool used as an adult ADHD screen, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). We recruited 151 adult volunteers (ages 18 to 40); 100 with confirmed ADHD diagnoses and 51 control participants. Overall, participants with prior diagnoses of ADHD scored lower on the MAAS than controls and ASRS scores were strongly negatively correlated MAAS scores. Attention performance index, response time, and response-time variability subscales of the TOVA were positively correlated with MAAS scores and negatively correlated with ASRS scores. Intrasubject response-time variability on the TOVA, a parameter associated with attention lapses, was also strongly negatively correlated with MAAS scores. Overall, participants' self-reported mindfulness, as measured by the MAAS, was strongly related to self-reports on a clinical measure of attention disorders, anxiety, depression, and multiple indices of concentration and mind wandering on a standardized Go/No-Go task, the TOVA.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Clarifying the relationship between trait mindfulness and objective performance Current Psychology December 15, 2021
- Associations Linking ADHD Traits and Psychopatological Symptoms: The Contribution of Interoceptive Awareness and Dispositional Mindfulness Mindfulness July 1, 2026
- Trait Mindfulness and Inhibitory Control in Young Adults: Moderation by Sex and Mediation by Resting EEG Research Square March 5, 2026
- Mindfulness Intervention Reduced Executive Dysfunction, Delay Aversion, and ADHD Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial Based on the Dual Pathway Model. The Behavior Therapist 2026
- Trait mindfulness in adolescents with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities January 31, 2025
and 1 more in the library
Cites 13
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence Journal of Neuroscience October 21, 2009
- Empirical explorations of mindfulness: Conceptual and methodological conundrums. Emotion February 1, 2010
- Dispositional mindfulness and depressive symptomatology: Correlations with limbic and self-referential neural activity during rest. Emotion 2010
- Classical mindfulness: an introduction to its theory and practice for clinical application. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences August 1, 2009
and 8 more in the library