Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (Sluggish Cognitive Tempo) in an Extensively Diagnostically Evaluated Outpatient Youth Sample

Research has consistently shown the importance of investigating youth comorbidity, especially when analyzing the utility and validity of clinical transdiagnostic constructs. The present study examined the influence of diagnostic groups for ADHD, Mood Disorder, both and neither, youth demographics, caregiver education, and comorbidity severity on the level of Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome in a diverse outpatient youth sample of 697 youth. The 5-item CDS CBCL measure was tested and validated for a comorbid population. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that Mood Disorders is the best indicator for CDS Levels and that youth with both ADHD and Mood Disorder significantly have the highest CDS levels compared to other diagnostic groups. Future research should continue to evaluate if CDS is transdiagnostic, especially in youth with DSM-based Mood Disorder diagnoses.