ReviewThe American psychologist
Cognitive disengagement syndrome: A construct at the crossroads.
Review in The American psychologist. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Boredom-ADHD Nexus: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review of the Evidence.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Pooled it
- Preliminary efficacy of pharmacological treatments on sluggish cognitive tempo (cognitive disengagement syndrome): a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Article
- Prevalence of Pure Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome Without Co-Occurring ADHD in an Elementary School Sample of Children: A Two-Stage Epidemiological Study.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026Article
- Comment on: Cognitive disengagement syndrome across attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and internalizing disorders: Towards a transdiagnostic construct.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sleep physiology associated with cognitive disengagement syndrome in adolescents with and without ADHD.Sleep medicine · 2026Article
- Cognitive disengagement syndrome across attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and internalizing disorders: towards a transdiagnostic construct.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Interpersonal trauma exposure is associated with cognitive disengagement syndrome symptoms in early adolescents.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome Symptoms and ADHD Dimensions in Relation To Children's Daily Life Executive Functioning Deficits.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026Article
- Social Communication Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD Level 1): The Mediating Role of Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- The Evolving ADHD Phenotype in the Externalizing Context.The American journal of psychiatry · 2026Review
- Attentional bias toward emotional faces in cognitive disengagement syndrome.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Executive functions and cognitive disengagement syndrome as predictors of suicidal behaviour: the mediating role of psychotic-like experiences.BMJ neurology open · 2026Article
- Cognitive disengagement syndrome and peer relationships of youth with critical congenital heart defects.Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence · 2025Article
- Cognitive disengagement syndrome and depressive symptoms in early adolescents: Examining the moderating role of a negative interpretation bias.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- Exploring the Relationship of Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with Emotional Dysregulation: A Twin Study in Childhood and Adolescence.Methods and protocols · 2025Article
- Examining social withdrawal in relation to academic enablers in students with and without cognitive disengagement syndrome.Journal of school psychology · 2025Article
- Cross-Sectional and Quasi-Longitudinal Examination of Childhood and Adult Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Insomnia.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- In multiple sclerosis, cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) is associated with higher depression, insomnia, fatigue, and paresthesia.Multiple sclerosis journal - experimental, translational and clinicalArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Initially described in the mid-1980s, cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS; previously termed sluggish cognitive tempo) is a set of symptoms comprising excessive daydreaming, mental confusion, and hypoactivity that is distinct from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other psychopathology dimensions and independently associated with functional outcomes. This article provides a broad overview of the history of the CDS construct, its terminology, and the current state of the science. Although there has been a marked upsurge in research on CDS, including psychometrically rigorous assessment tools and an emerging pattern of findings across numerous domains of functioning, the existing literature base also points to the importance of marshaling an ambitious research agenda that can guide CDS into its next era. Ten key research domains and open questions are highlighted, including (1) developmental course of CDS across the lifespan, (2) mechanisms linking CDS to functional outcomes and impairment, (3) importance of gathering normative data, (4) clarifying CDS and unidimensional or multidimensional, (5) etiologies of CDS, (6) neurobiology and psychophysiology of CDS, (7) CDS as a transdiagnostic trait, (8) understanding individuals with elevated CDS, (9) promoting participatory approaches and valuing lived experience, and (10) the role of CDS for intervention. Implications of this research for possible conceptualizations of CDS as a distinct disorder, diagnostic specifier, or transdiagnostic dimension are discussed. The road ahead will require increased collaboration, creativity, and rigor to build theory, and, ultimately, support the well-being of individuals with this syndrome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.