Barkley’s Model To Explain ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD or ADHD) is a childhood disorder. There are several theories that explain its cause and evolution, but one of these is particularly interesting: the Barkley model.

ADHD has a pattern of behavior characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and difficulty in controlling impulses (impulsivity). It is one of the most studied disorders in child psychopathology and the thousands of articles on the subject prove it.

At the beginning the approach was medical, later behavioral, neurocognitive, genetic and social models arose that enriched the understanding.

Throughout the first half of the last century, the purely medical approach led to the hypothesis that ADHD was the effect of a neurological alteration. A brain injury was the most plausible explanation.

The main symptoms of the disorder were short attention spans, poor concentration, impulsiveness, and an inability to postpone gratification. All this resulted in difficulties and scholastic problems.

From the medical model to the behavioral model

The insufficient answers provided by the medical model led to a search for a more functional definition. ADHD, therefore, went on to be considered a behavior disorder. According to this approach, hyperactivity was the most salient aspect.

In 1972, however, it was established that the basic deficit was not excessive activity, but impulsiveness and the inability to maintain attention. Most of the difficulties experienced by children with ADHD are related to insufficient ability to control and self-regulation.

Current approach to ADHD

The current perspective is reflected in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the WHO International Classification of Mental Disorders.

The main feature of the disorder is a persistent pattern of inattention and / or hyperactivity-impulsivity. These behaviors are more frequent and accentuated than their peers.

The hyperactive child has adaptation difficulties and the repercussions are negative for cognitive, personal and social development. They also hinder school learning and daily activities.

The Barkley model

Research into the origin of ADHD has mostly been atheorical, exploratory, and descriptive. Despite the progress made, there are still major inconsistencies regarding the underlying mechanisms.

The Barkley model (inhibition model) argues that the underlying problem of hyperactive children is a behavioral inhibition deficit. This deficit would negatively affect four neuropsychological functions that depend precisely on inhibition.

The four executive functions of the Barkley model

The four functions are working memory, the control of motivation and affects, the internalization of language and the processes of analysis and synthesis. These functions, in turn, condition the motor system that regulates behavior according to the objectives to be achieved.

Executive functions also affect other neuropsychological systems such as sensory, perceptual, linguistic, mnemonic and emotional.

• Working memory allows you to keep information while you are focused on an activity, even if the stimulus has disappeared.

• Deficiency in self-regulation of affect, motivation and activation makes the child with ADHD unable to control emotional responses to a specific event. This would lead him, according to Barkley’s model, to express his emotions in public.

• The internalization of language also tends to show a delay. The immaturity of the inner language could justify the difficulty of adopting rule-governed behavior and a delay in moral development.

Less mature and less creative games

A deficit in behavioral analysis and synthesis would hinder the hyperactive child’s ability to analyze context and behavior, as well as problem-solving skills. His game, therefore, is less mature, symbolic or creative. There is also a worse execution of tasks that require verbal fluency and less adequate solutions to problems.

According to Barkley’s model, the disorder can also manifest itself in the performance of non-verbal tasks when new or complex motor sequences are required. As we have said, the four executive functions also act on the motor system.

Other models attempt to explain ADHD. Despite changing the terminology and the emphasis on the concrete manifestations of the disorder, the underlying symptoms have hardly changed.