RESEARCH ARTICLE


A Comparison between Children with ADHD and Children with Epilepsy in Self-Esteem and Parental Stress Level



Antonella Gagliano 1, *, #, Marco Lamberti 1, 2, *, #, Rosamaria Siracusano 1, Massimo Ciuffo 1, Maria Boncoddo 1, Roberta Maggio 1, Simona Rosina 1, Clemente Cedro 3, Eva Germanò 1
1 Division of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Messina, Italy
2 Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Italy
3 Division of Psychiatry, University of Messina, Italy


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Creative Commons License
© Gagliano et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Division of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Messina, Italy; E-mail: mlamberti@unime.it
# Joint first authors


Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently associated with negative psychological outcomes. This study explores the relationship between self-esteem, ADHD symptoms and parental stress. It compares children with ADHD, children with epilepsy (E) and typical developmental controls (TD). Participants included 65 children (aged 9-12 yrs) and their parents. The assessment was conducted by Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale (MSCS), Parent Stress Index (PSI) and Conners' Parent Rating Scales–Revised. Significant differences were found in Social, Competence and Academic areas of self-esteem between children with ADHD, with E and TD. Moreover, parents of children with ADHD showed a higher overall stress than both other groups. In conclusion, it seems important to evaluate the psychological aspects of ADHD con-dition, both in children and in parents, in order to suggest an individual multimodal treatment.

Keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, children, epilepsy, parental stress, self-esteem..