Effects of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on child abuse and neglect

It is known that children with mental and developmental problems are at risk of abuse and neglect. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents. The purpose of this study is to examine whether children diagnosed with ADHD are under more risk in terms of child abuse and neglect compared to controls. In this case-control study, 104 children, who applied to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit of Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital between January and June 2015, were diagnosed with ADHD, and had no other psychiatric comorbidity except for disruptive behavior disorders, and 104 healthy children were compared. Abuse Assessment Questionnaire was applied to children after approval of the families was received. It was determined that the children diagnosed with ADHD were exposed to more physical (96.2%) and emotional abuse (87.5%) in a statistically significant way compared to controls (46.2%; 34.6%), they were exposed to physical and emotional neglect (5.8%) at a lower rate compared to healthy children (24.0%), and there was no difference between them and healthy children in terms of witnessing family violence (56.7%; 47.1%) and being exposed to sexual abuse (5.8%; 1.9%). The children diagnosed with ADHD were exposed to physical and emotional abuse at a higher rate; further studies should emphasize the role of parents in this topic and how parental education and treatment programs change the results.