Social and Emotional Impairment in Children and Adolescents with ADHD and the Impact on QUALITY OF LIFE
ADHD is associated with impairment of psychosocial functioning that goes beyond the core symptoms of attention-deficit, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Children and adolescents with ADHD have problems with peer relationships, lack friendships, or have limitations in their activities with friends if they do have friends. They often interact with their peers in a self-centered, impulsive, intrusive, commanding, and hostile behavior. As a result, up to 70% of these children with ADHD may have no close friends by third grade. They also tend to express their anger and frustration, especially when provoked, more than others and show reduced empathy and guilt.
The emotional impairments of children and adolescents with ADHD may include poor self-regulation of emotion, greater excessive emotional expression, especially anger and aggression, greater problems coping with frustration, reduced empathy, and decreased arousal to stimulation, while anxiety or depression are also common comorbid disorders of ADHD. Relationships within the family can be impaired as well. However, there is increasing evidence that quality of life improves with effective treatment.
Another common class of comorbid disorders associated with ADHD are learning disabilities which may result in lowered self-esteem. These as well as other impairments affect the quality of life (QoL) of both patients and their families.
READ MORE: [WORDdoc.format/(you may need to check your download folder)] Social and Emotional Impairment in Children and Adolescents with ADHD and the Impact on Quality of Life
Journal of Adolescent Health 46 (2010) 209–217
All authors contributed equally to this work.
To make sure that you are diagnosed and treated professionally contact Dr. Donald A. Rauh