ADHD Children May Have Fewer Friends as Teenagers, Studies Show
March 4, 2002
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may
have fewer friends and less acceptance as adolescents, even if their
ADHD symptoms have subsided, a recent study shows.
Catherine L. Bagwell, assistant professor of psychology at the University
of Richmond, and colleagues reported these findings in the November
issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry.
Social difficulties in children with ADHD include difficulty in paying attention and impulsive behavior.
The researchers studied two groups of 13- to 18-year olds, one with 111 teenagers who had been diagnosed with ADHD as children, the other with 100 teenagers without the disorder. The researchers also interviewed the teenagers' parents and teachers.
Interviews with the adults revealed that the ADHD-diagnosed teenagers had fewer close friendships and were rejected more often than their peers without ADHD. Interviews with the teenagers revealed that of the ADHD group, those who had been most aggressive as children enjoyed less peer acceptance as teenagers than those who had been less aggressive.
"Given the importance of peer group acceptance, friendships and peer networks for adjustment," the study reports, "adolescence may be a particularly difficult time for youths with a history of ADHD."
The study also found that the use of medication to treat ADHD did not appear to influence whether a child would have friends and peer acceptance as a teenager. "Standard medication regimens may not be sufficient to treat the social impairments common to ADHD," the report concluded.
The researchers call for more research into the causes of and treatments for poor social functioning in children with ADHD.