Linkages between child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls: Behavioral and social correlates

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2006-11, Vol.30 (11), p.1239-1255
• Main Authors: Briscoe-Smith, Allison M., Hinshaw, Stephen P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abused girls; ADHD; Aggression; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorders; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - classification; Child Behavior; Child clinical studies; Childhood sexual abuse; Children; Correlation; Correlation analysis; Effect Size; Externalizing behaviour; Female; Females; Girls; Humans; Hyperactivity; Medical Records; Medical sciences; Parenting; Peer rejection; Peer Relationship; Peer relationships; Physical abuse; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Rejection (Psychology); Risk; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Sexual Abuse; Social Isolation; Victimology
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.04.008

The objectives of this study were to examine whether girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of having histories of abuse and to assess whether the presence of an abuse history may constitute a distinct subgroup of youth with ADHD. We examined rates and correlates of child abuse in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 140) and a matched comparison sample of girls without ADHD ( n = 88), all aged 6–12 years. A thorough chart review reliably established documented rates of physical and sexual abuse in both samples. There were significantly higher rates of abuse for girls with ADHD (14.3%) than for the comparison sample (4.5%), with most of the abuse found in girls with the Combined as opposed to the Inattentive type. Higher rates of externalizing behaviors (including objective observations in a research summer camp) and peer rejection (indexed through peer sociometric nominations) characterized the subgroup of girls with ADHD with abuse histories compared to the subgroup without such histories, with moderate to large effect sizes. Subgroup differences regarding internalizing problems and cognitive deficits did not emerge. Findings regarding peer rejection were explained, in part, by higher rates of observed aggressive behavior in the abused subgroup. The findings raise important questions about the possible etiologic and/or exacerbating role of abusive trauma in a subgroup of children with ADHD. Cette étude a examiné des fillettes souffrant de troubles déficitaires de l’attention avec hyperactivité à savoir si ce problème les expose à un plus grand risque d’être victimes de maltraitance, et a évalué si une anamnèse de maltraitance parmi ce groupe pourrait constituer une raison pour reconnaître un sous-groupe de jeunes souffrant de ce désordre. Nous avons examiné les taux de maltraitance ainsi que les facteurs qui y sont associés dans une population mixte tant au point de vue ethnique que socioéconomique, de fillettes âgées de 6 à 12 ans et souffrant de troubles déficitaires de l’attention avec hyperactivité ( n = 140) et nous les avons comparées à un échantillon de fillettes non atteintes du même désordre ( n = 88). Nous avons passé en revue attentivement leurs dossiers afin de confirmer qu’elles avaient été effectivement victimes de maltraitance physique et sexuelle. Les fillettes souffrant de troubles déficitaires de l’attention avec hyp