Attention and impulsivity characteristics of the biological and adoptive parents of hyperactive and normal control children.

On tests comparing 176 biological and adoptive parents of hyperactive and normal control children, biological parents of hyperactives evidenced more attentional difficulties, slower mean reaction times, and fewer correct recognitions than did the other parents. They showed no significant differences in impulsivity. A familial association between childhood hyperactivity and attentional deficits in the biological parents was suggested, as was the persistence of attentional difficulties as compared to impulse control problems.