Being a Child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Parent of Them During the Pandemic Period

Abstract

Objective: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), whose main symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the mental status and parent-child relationship of parents with children diagnosed with ADHD and to examine the relationship between these variables and the change in ADHD symptom severity during the lockdown in Turkey. Method: The study sample consists of 92 children and adolescents who were followed up with ADHD diagnosis at the Kocaeli University Hospital, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, before the pandemic, who had the Atilla Turgay DSM-IV Based Screening and Assessment Scale filled out by their parents within the last year before the beginning of the pandemic, and who continued to be followed up during the pandemic. In the interviews conducted in 2021 during the pandemic, the parents were given a sociodemographic data form, the Atilla Turgay DSM-IV Based Screening and Assessment Scale, the Parent-Child Relationship Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Result: A positive correlation was found between all subscales of the BSI (anxiety, depression, negative self concept, somatization, hostility, discomfort severity index, global severity index) and ADHD subtypes (attention deficit dominant type; hyperactivity and impulsivity dominant type; combined type), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) symptom severity. A positive correlation was found between a negative parent-child relationship and ADHD subtypes, ODD and CD symptom severity. Conclusion: In conclusion, having ADHD and comorbid ODD or CD in their children increases psychological symptoms of parents. It is believed that the results of the study will be useful in approaching children diagnosed with ADHD in case the pandemic intensifies again or restrictions are required for various reasons.

Keywords

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• parent-child relations
• pandemic
• quarantine.

Pandemi Döneminde Dikkat Eksikliği Hiperaktivite Bozukluğu Tanılı Çocuk ve Dikkat Eksikliği Hiperaktivite Bozukluğu Tanılı Çocuğun Ebeveyni Olmak

Abstract

Amaç: Temel belirtileri dikkatsizlik, hiperaktivite ve dürtüsellik olan dikkat eksikliği hiperaktivite bozukluğu (DEHB), çocukluk çağında en sık rastlanan psikiyatrik bozukluklardan birisidir. Bu çalışmada; Türkiye’de COVID-19 pandemisine yönelik kısıtlamaların uygulandığı dönemde DEHB tanılı çocuğu olan ebeveynlerin ruhsal durumu ve ebeveyn-çocuk ilişkisinin değerlendirilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Metod: Çalışma örneklemini, pandemiden önce Kocaeli Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Çocuk ve Ergen Ruh Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları polikliniğinde DEHB tanısı ile takipli, dosyasında pandemi başlangıcından önceki son bir yıl içerisinde ebeveynleri tarafından doldurulmuş Atilla Turgay DSM-IV’e Dayalı Tarama ve Değerlendirme Ölçeği olan ve pandemi sürecinde takibe devam eden 92 çocuk ve ergen oluşturmaktadır. Pandemi sürecinde 2021’de yapılan görüşmelerde ebeveynlere sosyodemografik veri formu, Atilla Turgay DSM-IV’e Dayalı Tarama ve Değerlendirme Ölçeği, Ebeveyn-Çocuk İlişkisi Ölçeği ve Kısa Semptom Envanteri (KSE) verilmiştir. Bulgular: KSE alt ölçek puanları (anksiyete, depresyon, olumsuz benlik, somatizasyon, hostilite, rahatsızlık ciddiyeti indeksi, belirti toplam indeksi) ile DEHB alt tipleri (dikkat eksikliği baskın tip; hiperaktivite-dürtüsellik baskın tip, kombine tip), karşıt olma karşıt gelme bozukluğu (KOKGB) ve davranım bozukluğu (DB) belirti şiddeti arasında pozitif anlamlı ilişki saptanmıştır. Ebeveyn Çocuk İlişkisi Ölçeği’nin olumsuz ebeveyn çocuk ilişkisi alt ölçütü ile tüm DEHB alt tipleri, KOKGB ve DB belirti şiddetleri arasında pozitif korelasyon bulunmuştur. Sonuç: DEHB ve komorbid KOKGB veya DB tanılı çocuğu olan ebeveynlerin ruhsal belirtilerinin arttığı görülmektedir. Çalışma sonuçlarımız pandeminin tekrar şiddetlenmesi, başka pandemilerin gelişmesi ya da çeşitli nedenlerle kısıtlama uygulamalarının gerekmesi durumunda DEHB tanılı çocuklara yaklaşım açısından fikir oluşturacağı ve yazına katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• Dikkat eksikliği hiperaktivite bozukluğu
• ebeveyn-çocuk ilişkisi
• pandemi
• karantina.

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