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Objectives: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, which is observed in 3-7% of the children at school age. It is associated to significant disruption in developmental, cognitive, and academic domains. It manifests as reduced self-confidence, unhappiness, failure, impaired interpersonal relationships as a result of deficits in almost every domain of children’s life and adversely affects mental wellbeing of children. Attachment is a condition that affects both individual’s inner self and affiliations. There are studies reporting that there is insecure attachment in patients with ADHD rather than secure attachment. In this study we are going to see the effects of ADHD on mother attachment.
Method: Among patients presented to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Erciyes University, Medicine School, 50 patients aged 11-17 years, who were diagnosed as having ADHD and had no concurrent psychiatric diagnosis or chronic disease were included in the study. Age- and sex-matched 50 healthy children and adolescent were employed as control group. Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL) interview and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) was applied to all cases included. Parents were asked to complete sociodemographic data sheet about their children and Turgay DSM-IV-based child and adolescent behavior disorders screening and rating scale. Parental and Peer Attachment Scale was applied to patient and control groups.
Results: The mean age of groups was 12.78±1.67. There were 15 girls and 35 boys in the groups. The education level of control group mothers is better than ADHD group and ADHD group mothers had more psychiatric disorders than control group. The mean score of attachment to mother in ADHD group was 69, and 71 in control group. The mean score of girls in ADHD group was 69 and boys’ was 66. In control group the mean score of girls is 70, and 72 for the boys.
Conclusion: When compared to controls, it was found that cases in ADHD group attached to mothers less safely. It was found that mothers of patients with ADHD had more negative reactive behavior control and had less motherhood pattern in a study. Therefore these negative behaviors affect child’s attachment and quality of attachment to mother. Girls attached more safely to their mothers than boys in ADHD group. In a research it was found that boys with ADHD or conduct disorder had insecure attachment. In the control group, boys attached more safely than girls. In conclusion, although ADHD is defined by disorders in cognitive and executive functioning, it is thought that social limitations were observed in children and adolescents with ADHD; that this difficulty in regulation was reşected in relations to both peers and parents; and, thus it shares common etiological factors with insecure attachment; and that they predispose to development of each other. Further studies with larger sample size are needed in this topic.