ABSTRACT

Objective

It is often assumed that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience friendship difficulties because of their own problem behaviors. However, friendships are dyadic relationships between two children. This study sought to understand the incremental contributions of friends’ problem behaviors to dyadic friendship quality in a clinically diagnosed sample of children with ADHD.

Method

One hundred and sixty-five dyads consisting of a target child with ADHD and social impairment (age 6–11; 67% male; 72% white) and a reciprocated, real-life friend were recruited. Parents and teachers rated the ADHD symptom severity, externalizing problems, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits of target children and friends. Friendship quality in the dyad was measured with: (a) questionnaires independently completed by target children, their parents, their friends, and the parents of their friends; and (b) observations of child-friend interactions.

Results

The severity of ADHD symptoms and externalizing problems (but not CU traits) in target children was associated with more negative friendship quality reported on questionnaires. Adjusting for the corresponding problem behavior in target children, each type of friends’ problem behaviors incrementally predicted less positive friendship quality (on questionnaires). Friends’ ADHD symptoms and CU traits also incrementally predicted more negative friendship quality (on questionnaires and observations).

Conclusions

Considering problem behaviors in friends of children with ADHD (in addition to those in children with ADHD) may be important for identifying dyads at risk for lower quality friendships. These findings could possibly lead to new directions when designing and evaluating treatments targeting the friendship problems of children with ADHD.

中文翻译：

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多动症儿童朋友问题行为对友谊质量的贡献

摘要

客观的

人们通常认为，患有注意力缺陷/多动障碍 (ADHD) 的儿童会因为自身的问题行为而经历友谊困难。然而，友谊是两个孩子之间的二元关系。本研究旨在了解临床诊断为多动症儿童样本中朋友的问题行为对二元友谊质量的增量贡献。

方法

招募了 165 个二元组，包括一名患有注意力缺陷多动障碍和社交障碍的目标儿童（6-11 岁；67% 为男性；72% 为白人）和一位现实生活中的来往朋友。家长和老师对目标儿童和朋友的 ADHD 症状严重程度、外化问题和冷酷无情 (CU) 特征进行了评级。二元组中的友谊质量是通过以下方式衡量的：（a）由目标儿童、他们的父母、他们的朋友和他们朋友的父母独立完成的问卷；(b) 对儿童朋友互动的观察。

结果

目标儿童的 ADHD 症状和外化问题（但不是 CU 特征）的严重程度与问卷中报告的负面友谊质量有关。针对目标儿童的相应问题行为进行调整后，每种朋友的问题行为都会逐渐预测不太积极的友谊质量（在问卷中）。朋友的 ADHD 症状和 CU 特征也逐渐预测更多负面的友谊质量（根据问卷和观察）。

结论

考虑 ADHD 儿童朋友的问题行为（除了 ADHD 儿童的问题行为之外）对于识别处于低质量友谊风险中的二人组可能很重要。在设计和评估针对 ADHD 儿童的友谊问题的治疗时，这些发现可能会带来新的方向。