Childhood physical neglect may impair processing speed in adults with ADHD: a cross-sectional, case–control study

AIM: Higher rates of childhood trauma have been reported in both children and adults with adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than in healthy individuals. The association between childhood trauma and deficiency in cognitive functions in adults has been reported. One of the aims of our study was to compare childhood trauma reporting between adults with ADHD and healthy individuals. The second aim was to assess the difference in the cognitive function performance between traumatized and non-traumatized individuals in ADHD group as well as in the control group. Finally, the association between childhood trauma exposure and cognitive function in adults with ADHD was assessed.

METHODS: Fifty adults with ADHD and age, sex and years of education matched 50 healthy controls were administered a sociodemographic data form, Wender Utah rating scale (WURS), adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder self-report scale (ASRS), childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), the structured clinical interview form for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). Both groups were also assessed by neuropsychological tests.

RESULTS: On the CTQ, patients with ADHD had a higher mean overall score than the control subjects, t(98) = −4.977, p < .001). Furthermore, ADHD patients reported significantly higher levels of childhood emotional abuse (t(98) = −4.986, p < .001), emotional neglect (t(98) = −5.105, p < .001) and physical neglect (t(98) = −2.663, p < .001) compared to controls. ADHD patients with a history of physical neglect performed worse in TMT-A than ADHD patients without a history of physical neglect. Based on correlation analysis, TMT Part A time had a significant positive relationship with emotional abuse and physical neglect (r = .382, p < .01; r = .281, p = .048) in ADHD group.

CONCLUSION: Adults with ADHD report higher rates of childhood trauma than healthy control individuals. Processing speed was slower only in the adults with ADHD who suffered from physical neglect than those who did not. A significant association was found between physical neglect and emotional abuse with processing speed in ADHD group. These findings could reflect the idea that both physical neglect and ADHD are related with processing speed weakness, with those who have both of these conditions having significantly greater problems on such measure than those with ADHD alone.