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ADHD symptoms and maturity – a study in primary school children
Author(s) -
Gustafsson P,
Thernlund G,
Besjakov J,
Karlsson MK,
Ericsson I,
Svedin CG
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00608.x
Subject(s) - medicine , maturity (psychological) , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , association (psychology) , bone age , attention deficit , pediatrics , el niño , clinical psychology , psychology , developmental psychology , psychotherapist
Aim: To study if age and non‐behavioural measures of biological maturity have any associations with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Two hundred fifty‐one children 7 to 9 years of age in a Swedish school were screened for ADHD‐symptom. ADHD‐symptoms were estimated by Conners Abbreviated Questionnaire by both parents and teachers. Motor function, body weight and body height were measured. Skeletal age was estimated through hand radiographs. Results: Height, weight and skeletal bone‐age did correlate significantly with age (rs = 0.44–0.69, p < 0.001) but not with ADHD symptom scores. Motor dysfunction had a weak negative correlation with age (rs =−0.21, p < 0.05). Parent and teacher scores of ADHD‐symptoms did not correlate with age. Conclusion: This study showed that the variables measuring general biological maturity had a strong association with age, whereas motor dysfunction and ADHD symptoms had no significant association with age. ADHD symptoms did not correlate with the variables measuring general biological maturity. These results do not support the hypothesis that a general biological immaturity is an important etiologic factor for ADHD symptomatology.