The self-perception of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

grantor: University of TorontoThis study investigated the attributions children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) make about the degree to which they felt their most problematic ADHD symptom was controllable, stable, global, and stigmatizing, and about the locus of the cause of their behaviour. Participants were 16 children with ADHD (10 boys, 6 girls), and 16 children without ADHD (9 boys, 7 girls), ages 7 to 13. Children with ADHD felt that their most problematic behaviour is less within their control, more stable and more global than children without ADHD. No significant group differences emerged on the locus of causality dimension. Girls without ADHD reported that their behaviours can sometimes bother their teachers (as did boys with ADHD), parents, and peers. Finally, children with ADHD felt that they had less control over their ADHD as a disorder than their most problematic ADHD symptom. Results are discussed in terms of attribution theory and clinical implications.M.A