Prevalence of anxiety symptoms among caregivers of children with ADHD attending pediatric and speech therapy departments.

BACKGROUND

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent mental diagnosis among children. This leads to a persistent pattern of hyperactivity and inattention that hinders functioning and development and places strain on parents. The goal of this study was to assess the incidence of ADHD symptoms in a pediatric population and to measure anxiety, depression, and the burden of caregiving in parents.

METHODS

This study included 44 families with children who were monitored at King Hamad University Hospital's (KHUH) pediatric and speech therapy departments. In addition to sociodemographic questions, parents were required to complete scales including the parental ADHD diagnostic scale, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), anxiety (GAD7), depression (PHQ9), and burden of care (MCSI).

RESULTS

18% of the young people (n = 8) were formally diagnosed with ADHD. A regression analysis was performed on the population of those with ADHD, considering their sociodemographic traits and the outcomes of other scales. This revealed that children with ADHD and high scores on the SACRED questionnaire had a statistically significant relationship (p value of 0.012). The GAD-7 (p = 0.942), PHQ-9 (p = 0.671), and MCSI (p = 0.167) questionnaires, on the other hand, were not significantly related. The study revealed that although parents did not exhibit any increased level of generalized anxiety, depression, or burden of care, they were more anxious about their children's health.

CONCLUSION

Parents of children with ADHD have more anxiety regarding their children's health, but they do not experience more depression, anxiety, or excessive caregiving burdens because their children have symptoms of ADHD.