An ethological study on behavioural differences between hyperactive, aggressive, combined hyperactive/aggressive and control children.

Frequencies and sequential patterns of behaviour elements in pure hyperactive (N = 12), pure aggressive (N = 13), combined hyperactive/aggressive (N = 15) and control children (N = 10) were recorded in a semistructured playroom session and subsequently compared. The samples were age- and IQ-matched. In an overall MANOVA a significant main effect for hyperactivity but not for aggression was found. The hyperactive children were characterized particularly by differences in squirming and changes in sitting. The sequential patterning of their behaviour revealed weaker temporal contingencies between their behaviour and the conversational speech of the experimenter than in the case of the nonhyperactive (aggressive and control) children. This may be explained by deficits in social attention in the hyperactive groups.