Relationships among attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, induced labor, and selected physiological and...

We investigated whether events associated with physiological maternal and fetal stress during the birth process were associated with diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), alone or in combination with demographic variables. We gathered data through maternal responses to a 17-item questionnaire. Sex, mother's educational level, mother's age at delivery, interval between the beginning of labor and birth, and presence or absence of complications during the delivery process accounted for 42% of the variance in the diagnostic (ADHD) category. The model correctly classified 87% of the non-ADHD group (n = 90) and 48% of the children with ADHD (n = 40), for an overall correct classification rate of 75%. A differential effect for sex was indicated, but a low number of females in the diagnostic category limited meaningful analysis. Maternal age at delivery and maternal education level emerged as the strongest predictors, with the exception of sex, of ADHD in the full model.