The quality of life of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review

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Abstract

Quality of life (QoL) describes an individual’s subjective perception of their position in life as evidenced by their physical, psychological, and social functioning. QoL has become an increasingly important measure of outcome in child mental health clinical work and research. Here we provide a systematic review of QoL studies in children and young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and address three main questions. (1) What is the impact of ADHD on QoL? (2) What are the relationships between ADHD symptoms, functional impairment and the mediators and moderators of QoL in ADHD? (3) Does the treatment of ADHD impact on QoL? Databases were systematically searched to identify research studies describing QoL in ADHD. Thirty six relevant articles were identified. Robust negative effects on QoL are reported by the parents of children with ADHD across a broad range of psycho-social, achievement and self evaluation domains. Children with ADHD rate their own QoL less negatively than their parents and do not always seeing themselves as functioning less well than healthy controls. ADHD has a comparable overall impact on QoL compared to other mental health conditions and severe physical disorders. Increased symptom level and impairment predicts poorer QoL. The presence of comorbid conditions or psychosocial stressors helps explain these effects. There is emerging evidence that QoL improves with effective treatment. In conclusion, ADHD seriously compromises QoL especially when seen from a parents’ perspective. QoL outcomes should be included as a matter of course in future treatment studies.

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The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for young children.

Susan Harter, Robin Pike (1984)

A new pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for young children, a downward extension of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children, is described. There are 2 versions of this instrument, 1 for preschoolers and kindergartners and a second for first and second graders, each tapping 4 domains: cognitive competence, physical competence, peer acceptance, and maternal acceptance. Factor analyses reveal a 2-factor solution. The first factor, general competence, is defined by the cognitive and physical competence subscales. The second factor, social acceptance, comprises the peer and maternal acceptance subscales. The psychometric properties were found to be acceptable. Weak correlations between children's and teachers' judgments are discussed in terms of the young child's tendency to confuse the wish to be competent or accepted with reality. It is urged that this instrument not be viewed as a general self-concept scale but be treated as a measure of 2 separate constructs, perceived competence and social acceptance.

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Young adult outcome of hyperactive children: adaptive functioning in major life activities.

Russell A Barkley, Mariellen Fischer, Lori Smallish … (2006)

The authors report the adaptive functioning of hyperactive and control children in southeastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee) followed to young adulthood. Interviews with participants concerning major life activities were collected between 1992 and 1996 and used along with employer ratings and high school records at the young adult follow-up (mean = 20 years, range 19-25) for this large sample of hyperactive (H; n = 149) and community control (CC; n = 72) children initially seen in 1978-1980 and studied for at least 13 years. Age, duration of follow-up, and IQ were statistically controlled as needed. The H group had significantly lower educational performance and attainment, with 32% failing to complete high school. H group members had been fired from more jobs and manifested greater employer-rated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and lower job performance than the CC group. Socially, the H group had fewer close friends, more trouble keeping friends, and more social problems as rated by parents. Far more H than CC group members had become parents (38% versus 4%) and had been treated for sexually transmitted disease (16% versus 4%). Severity of lifetime conduct disorder was predictive of several of the most salient outcomes (failure to graduate, earlier sexual intercourse, early parenthood) whereas attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder at work were predictive of job performance and risk of being fired. These findings corroborate prior research and go further in identifying sexual activity and early parenthood as additional problematic domains of adaptive functioning at adulthood.

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Assessment of health-related quality of life in children: a review of conceptual, methodological, and regulatory issues.

Louis Matza, Andrine Swensen, Emuella Flood … (2015)

Recently, the FDA has encouraged testing of medications among pediatric patients during drug development. Pharmaceutical companies have responded by conducting more clinical trials among children, and researchers are becoming aware of the unique challenges of assessing pediatric health outcomes, including health-related quality of life (HRQL). Like adults, children experience effects of illness and treatment beyond physiologic outcomes. Further pediatric HRQL research is necessary to examine these broader psychosocial outcomes and provide a thorough understanding of the effects of treatment on children's health status. The purpose of the current review is to discuss key regulatory and methodologic developments and provide guidance for future research on pediatric HRQL. This review of pediatric HRQL assessment includes five sections: 1). recent pediatric regulatory developments in the United States; 2). issues in defining and conceptualizing pediatric HRQL, including the importance of contextual variables such as family and peer systems; 3). methodologic issues (e.g., the proxy question, developmental differences, response sets) with recommendations for addressing these issues in clinical trials; 4). validated generic and condition-specific pediatric HRQL measures; and 5). a recommendation for additional research on the HRQL impact of childhood psychiatric disorders. It is advocated that assessment of HRQL among children should be conducted regularly as an integral part of drug development.

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Author and article information

Contributors

: +44-1382204004 , d.r.coghill@dundee.ac.uk

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Title: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Publisher: D. Steinkopff-Verlag (Heidelberg )

ISSN (Print): 1018-8827

ISSN (Electronic): 1435-165X

Publication date (Electronic): 26 July 2009

Publication date PMC-release: 26 July 2009

Publication date (Print): February 2010

Volume: 19

Issue: 2

Pages: 83-105

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

[2 ]School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

[3 ]Social, Genetic, Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

[4 ]Child Study Center, New York University, New York, USA

[5 ]Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Gent, Ghent, Belgium

[6 ]Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

[7 ]Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands

[8 ]University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

[9 ]University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

[10 ]Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK

[11 ]University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

[12 ]Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

[13 ]University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

[14 ]Cagliari University, Cagliari, Italy

[15 ]Centre for Neuroscience, Division of Medicine, University of Dundee, 19 Dudhope Terrace, Dundee, DD3 6HH UK

Article

Publisher ID: 46

DOI: 10.1007/s00787-009-0046-3

PMC ID: 3128746

PubMed ID: 19633992

SO-VID: 92934202-1704-4d1d-a9d9-7b3a0ea5053b

History

Date received : 28 October 2008

Date accepted : 8 July 2009

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: quality of life,attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd),systematic review

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: quality of life, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd), systematic review

The quality of life of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review

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Abstract

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Asian Journal of Quality of Life (AjQoL)

Most cited references 68

The pictorial scale of perceived competence and social acceptance for young children.

Young adult outcome of hyperactive children: adaptive functioning in major life activities.

Assessment of health-related quality of life in children: a review of conceptual, methodological, and regulatory issues.

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