Author(s)

Akira Yasumura^1,2*, Yoshiyuki Takimoto³, Eisuke Nakazawa³, Masumi Inagaki¹

¹Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
²Department of Neuropsychiatry, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
³Department of Biomedical Ethics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Informed consent forms and clinical study participation explanations contain many specialized words including medical terms that are difficult to understand. The difficulty is particularly obvious for children with developmental disorders who show attention or similar problems. This study quantitatively evaluated the decision-making ability of these children using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) as a preliminary study for a multi-faceted investigation that would also use physiological indices. Methods: Participants were 11 children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). The WISC-III was used for quantitative evaluation of their decision-making ability. Results of intelligence quotients (IQs), group indices, and subtest scores were analyzed. Results: The mean Performance IQ was four points lower than the mean Verbal IQ. The mean score for the Processing Speed index was lower by more than one standard deviation (SD). The mean scores for the Coding and Object Assembly subtests were lower by more than two SDs. Conclusion: The WISC-III results for IQ and group indices suggested the efficacy of auditory explanations. In addition, the subtest results suggested the necessity to pay sufficient attention to risk-benefit weighting in explanations. These findings suggested that the decision-making ability of children with AD/HD could be assessed using the WISC-III.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Decision Making, Informed Consent

Yasumura, A. , Takimoto, Y. , Nakazawa, E. and Inagaki, M. (2016) Decision Making in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Open Journal of Pediatrics, 6, 158-162. doi: 10.4236/ojped.2016.62023.