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ADHD symptoms and maturity – a follow‐up study in school children
Author(s) -
Gustafsson P,
Holmström E,
Besjakov J,
Karlsson MK
Publication year - 2010
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.1651-2227.2010.01851.x
Subject(s) - medicine , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , maturity (psychological) , pediatrics , bone age , attention deficit , el niño , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychology
Aim: To test the hypothesis that there is a subgroup of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who show a decline in ADHD‐symptoms that is associated with signs of biological maturation, a phenomenon referred to as a ‘maturation catch‐up’. Methods: The parents of 147 children who were given an examination in grades one and two 1999–2000 that included assessment of ADHD‐symptoms and estimation of skeletal bone‐age by use of hand radiographs (which was repeated in the eighth grade), were contacted 2008–2009 and were asked to answer questions concerning ADHD‐symptoms and behavioural maturity in their children. The response frequency was 67%. A complete dataset was achieved in 57 children. A reduction of Conners scores for ADHD‐symptoms of eight or more between the evaluations was defined as a marked reduction in symptoms. Results: When the children with a marked symptom reduction (n = 6) were compared with children without such a reduction (n = 51), we found a significant difference in skeletal maturation (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study gives support to the theory that there is a group of children with ADHD‐symptoms who have a biological maturational‐lag who will show a decrease in their ADHD‐symptoms as they show a maturation catch‐up with increasing age.