Abstract
Background/AimThe questionnaire-children with difficulties (QCD) is a parent-assessed questionnaire designed to evaluate a child’s difficulties in functioning during specific time periods of the day. In this study, the QCD was applied to determine the time periods of the day that are concerning for the parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The results were compared with those for a community sample.MethodsElementary and junior high school students with ADHD (243 boys, 55 girls) and a community sample of children (518 boys, 618 girls) were enrolled in this study. Their behaviors were assessed by the QCD, the ADHD-rating scale (ADHD-RS), and the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI). The effects of gender (boy/girl) and diagnosis (ADHD/community sample) on the total QCD score were analyzed across each school grade (elementary/junior high school). Correlation coefficients between QCD and ADHD-RS/ODBI scores were analyzed.ResultsThe QCD score for the ADHD group was significantly lower than that for the community sample (P < 0.001). There were significantly strong correlations between “evening” and ADHD-RS and ODBI scores for all children with ADHD (r > 0.41, P < 0.001) and between “night” and inattention and oppositional symptoms for the girls with ADHD (r > 0.40, P < 0.001).ConclusionsParents reported that children with ADHD faced greater difficulties in completing basic daily activities compared with the community controls, particularly in the evening. Furthermore, these difficulties were related to the severity of ADHD symptoms. The parents’ perceptions depended on the gender, ADHD and oppositional symptoms, and the time period of the day. This study determined that children with ADHD face greater difficulties in daily functioning compared with community sample children, that these difficulties are time-dependent, and that these difficulties were particularly experienced in the evening.
Highlights
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with core symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattention
Distributions of the questionnaire-children with difficulties (QCD) Scores QCDs that were filled out completely were collected from the parents of the children in the ADHD group and the community sample (Table 1)
Regardless of the gender, we found that the QCD scores were significantly lower for the ADHD group than for the community sample during every time period; they were associated with ADHD-RS and Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI) scores
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with core symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattention. These symptoms are continuously recognized throughout the daytime from childhood to adulthood [1,2,3,4]. It has been suggested that children with ADHD face difficulties in various aspects of life, such as family relationships, school life, friendships, academic achievement, emotions in adulthood, and work, while severity is associated with the core symptoms of ADHD [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Some studies have indicated a relationship between ADHD symptoms in children and family burden [10,11,12,13]
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