The relationship between WISC-R scores of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and problem solving skills of their mothers

Abstract

Amac: Cocukluk caginin en sik gorulen noropsikiyatrik rahatsizligi olan dikkat eksikligi ve hiperaktivite bozuk- lugu (DEHB), hastaligin siddetine gore bireyin sosyal yasama uyum becerileri ve benlik saygisini olumsuz yonde etkilemektedir. Bu calismada, DEHB'li cocuklarin annelerinin gercek yasamda problem cozme ya da stresli yasam olaylariyla basa cikabilme kapasiteleri ile cocuklarin sosyal yasama uyum becerilerinin karsilas- tirilmasi amaclanmistir. Yontem: Arastirma, Gazi Universitesi Cocuk Noroloji ve Cocuk Psikiyatrisi polikliniklerine basvuran, yaslari 6 ile 10 (8.11±1.34) arasinda degisen, DSM-IV tani olcutlerine gore DEHB tanisi konmus 49 erkek cocuk ve annesi uzerinde yurutulmustur. Cocuklar; Kovacs Depresyon Olcegi, Cocuklar Icin Spielberger Surekli-Durumluk Kaygi Olcegi ve Wechsler Cocuklar Icin Zeka Olcegi (WISC-R) ile degerlendirilirken, annelerine Problem Cozme Envanteri uygulanmistir. Bulgular: WISC-R'nin sozel, performans ve toplam zeka bolumleri acisindan DEHB alt tipleri arasinda bir fark gorulmemistir. Alt tipler acisindan, hem cocuklarin yargilama hem de annelerin problem cozme becerileri arasinda bir fark gozlenmemistir. Yine, annelerin problem cozme becerileri ile cocuklarin yargilama becerileri arasinda bir iliski gozlenmemistir. Annelerden elde edilen sonuclarda, problem cozme yeteneginin guven ve kisisel alt parametrelerinde, annelerin kendilerini yetersiz olarak algilamalari ile cocuklarin yargilama becerileri arasindaki iliskinin anlamli oldugu gorulmustur. Tartisma: DEHB olan cocuklar, yikici davranislari, sosyal iliskilerdeki zorluklari, problem cozme konusundaki yetersizlikleri nedeniyle cevrelerinden olumsuz karsilik almakta ve cogunlukla cezalandirilmaktadirlar. Cogu zaman ne yapmalari gerektigi konusunda bilgi sahibi olmakla beraber, bu bilgiyi uygulamaya dokememeleri nedeniyle agir elestirilere maruz kalmaktadirlar. Sonuc: Cocuklara model olabilecek uygun eriskin davranislarinin olmasi, cocuklarin surekli elestirilmemeleri, problem cozumune dahil edilmeleri DEHB'lilerin benlik saygisini yukseltip, uygun davranislarda bulunmalarini ABSTRACT The relationship between WISC-R scores of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and problem solving skills of their mothers Objective: Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder which is commonly seen in childhood. Depending on the severity of the disease, ADHD effects negatively in terms of harmony in social life events and self esteem. The aim of this study is that to compare adaptation skills of children with ADHD and their mothers' capacity of coping with stressful events or problem solving in the real life. Method: The Kovacs Depression Scale, the Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) were applied to the children while the Problem Solving Inventory was applied to the mothers. The sample was consisted of 49 ADHD children, diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria, aged 6 to 9 years (8.11±1.34) and their mothers. Results: There were no significant differences among ADHD subtypes in terms of WISC-R Verbal, Performance and Total Intelligence sections. In terms of subtypes, there were no significant differences in both children' ability of judgement and their mothers' problem solving skills. Besides that, a high relationship hasn't been observed between problem-solving skills of the mothers and their children's ability of judgement. The relationship between the judgement ability of the children and their mother's perception about feeling insufficient, which was obtained from result of subparameters of the Problem Solving Inventory (confidence and personal) was meaningful. Discussion: Because of disruptive behaviors, difficulty in social relationship and lack of problem solving skills, children with ADHD get negative reactions from their environment and mostly they are punished. Children with ADHD often get criticized, because they actually know what to do but they can not put that into practice. Conclusion: In order to improve the self esteem of children with ADHD, there should be appropriate adult behavioral model, also these children should be included in problem solving and should not be criticized constantly. These will allow children with ADHD to adapt themselves to social life.