Parents’ of adolescent children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) perception about their children exposure to violence

Abstract

Introduction People with ADHD can expose themselves to violence in different environments. ADHD typical behaviors can provoke inadequate behaviors of parents in their children‘s education, as physical and emotional maltreatment. Objectives We carried out a qualitative study using the oral thematic history to identify the perception of parents of children with ADHD about their exposition to familial or extrafamilial violence. Aims Understanding the ADHD adolescents' exposure to violence. Method Nine parents of adolescents with ADHD taken care of in a Brazilian public university hospital participated. The thematic interview was carried through in their homes. Results The narratives' analysis allowed identifying the occurrence of Conflicts in the familiar conviviality and Conflicts in the context of the school and the community in all cases. The violence identified was of physical and psychological nature. The communication between areas, sectors, professionals and family was harmed, problem that is reflected in the social relations established with the adolescents. Conclusion The difficulty of the individuals with ADHD in adjusting to effective social behavior standards takes them to be labeled, suffering social intolerance and discrimination, producing consequences in their interpersonal relationships in the family, school and community. The addition of violent actions as educative methods and other inadequate family behaviors allied to social and school difficulties can bring harmful consequences with repercussions on adolescents' development and adaptation in their different contexts of conviviality.