How does the predictive capacity of a virtual-reality CPT for children with ADHD differ by country? A transcultural study with Argentine and Spanish Children

The present study addresses a notable research gap in protocols for evaluating and diagnosing ADHD by examining whether a Virtual Reality Test can predict the three types of ADHD presentation considering the country of origin (Argentina and Spain). More specifically, the findings show that although both populations had been diagnosed with the same disorder, the symptoms in the Argentine population were more severe. These results might be explained by the symptomatological complexity of ADHD and participants’ subclinical problems. The results also show that, regardless of country and potential cultural influence on performance, the number of commission errors was the only variable that was able to significantly predict the type of ADHD presentation. Nonetheless, the predictive capacity of the commission variable was significantly greater in the Argentine population, where the amount of predictions was 18.9 percentage points greater than in the Spanish group. This result may have been biased by the severity of the different types of presentation. The study concludes the importance of thorough ADHD evaluation protocols that should be not solely based on performance in attentional tasks and/or observational scales but which also need to be tested and considered in relation to other variables with notable impact on daily life, such as the cultural or educational aspects that are so present in children’s development.