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. 2017 Feb;26(2):201-214.
doi: 10.1007/s00787-016-0881-y. Epub 2016 Jun 17.

Rates of peer victimization in young adolescents with ADHD and associations with internalizing symptoms and self-esteem

Stephen P Becker  1 , Krista R Mehari  2 , Joshua M Langberg  3 , Steven W Evans  4
Affiliations

Rates of peer victimization in young adolescents with ADHD and associations with internalizing symptoms and self-esteem

Stephen P Becker et al. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

The purposes of the present study were to: (1) describe rates of peer victimization in young adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, (2) evaluate the association between types of peer victimization (i.e., physical, relational, and reputational) and internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, and self-esteem), and (3) examine whether associations between victimization and internalizing problems differ for males or females. Participants were 131 middle-school students (ages 11-15 years, 73 % male, 76 % White) diagnosed with ADHD who completed ratings of victimization, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Over half of the participants (57 %) reported experiencing at least one victimization behavior at a rate of once per week or more, with higher rates of relational victimization (51 %) than reputational victimization (17 %) or physical victimization (14 %). Males reported experiencing more physical victimization than females, but males and females did not differ in rates of relational or reputational victimization. Whereas relational and physical victimization were both uniquely associated with greater anxiety for both males and females, relational victimization was associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem for males but not females. These findings indicate that young adolescents with ADHD frequently experience peer victimization and that the association between victimization and internalizing problems among young adolescents with ADHD differs as a result of victimization type, internalizing domain, and sex.

Keywords: ADHD; Adolescence; Anxiety; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Depression; Peers; Prevalence; Sex differences; Victimisation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement: On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sex Moderates the Relations between Relational Victimization and Depression (top figure) and Self-Esteem (bottom figure) in Young Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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