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Sociometric status of clinic-referred children with Attention Deficit Disorders with and without Hyperactivity

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Abstract

Peer sociometric nominations of clinic-referred children given the diagnosis of Attention) Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADD/H) or Attention Deficit Disorder without Hyperactivity (ADD/WO) were compared to one another and to those of normal control children. Only children with ADD diagnoses in the absence of other major diagnoses were included. Both children with ADD/H (n=16) and ADD/WO (n=11) received significantly fewer “liked most” nominations, more “liked least” nominations, and lower social preference scores than normal control (n=45) children. These results confirm previous findings of social deficits in children with ADD/H, even when codiagnoses are excluded. In addition, they support the validity of the diagnostic category of ADD/WO by demonstrating that the ADD/WO behavior pattern is apparently “psychopathological” in being associated with peer unpopularity after codiagnoses are excluded. When larger groups including all codiagnoses (primarily Conduct Disorder) of children with ADD/H (n=36) and ADD/WO (n=20) were compared, identical patterns of peer unpopularity were found, except that children with ADD/H also were significantly more likely to be nominated as a child who “fights most”.

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Carlson, C.L., Lahey, B.B., Frame, C.L. et al. Sociometric status of clinic-referred children with Attention Deficit Disorders with and without Hyperactivity. J Abnorm Child Psychol 15, 537–547 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00917239

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