RESEARCH ARTICLE
Self-Esteem Evaluation in Children and Adolescents Suffering from ADHD
Luigi Mazzone1, * , Valentina Postorino1, Laura Reale2, Manuela Guarnera2, Valeria Mannino2, Marco Armando1, Laura Fatta1, Lavinia De Peppo1 , Stefano Vicari1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2013Volume: 9
First Page: 96
Last Page: 102
Publisher ID: CPEMH-9-96
DOI: 10.2174/1745017901309010096
Article History:
Received Date: 5/10/2012Revision Received Date: 28/2/2013
Acceptance Date: 24/3/2013
Electronic publication date: 11 /7/2013
Collection year: 2013

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.
Abstract
Background:
Several recent studies investigated the relationship between self-esteem and ADHD, however, the results are still controversial. In the present study we analyze the characteristics of self-esteem in a sample of children and adolescents suffering from ADHD, with a particular focus on the relationship between ADHD symptoms severity and treatment strategies.
Methods:
A total of 85 patients with ADHD (44 drug-free and 41 drug-treated, 23 of which atomoxetine-treated and 18 Methylphenidate-treated) and 26 healthy controls were enrolled in the study in order to evaluate self-esteem using the Self-esteem Multidimensional Test (TMA).
Results:
ADHD subjects revealed lower scores on all self-esteem domains compared to controls. Both ADHD drug-free (47.1%) and ADHD drug-treated (44.1%) groups showed significantly higher rates of subjects in the pathological range as compared to normal control group (8.8%) (p <.001) with a higher percentage of subjects in the pathological range. Among ADHD drug-treated subjects, the methylphenidate group showed higher self-esteem scores as compared to the atomoxetine group.
Conclusion:
A lower self-esteem profile is more common in subjects suffering from ADHD than in healthy controls, suggesting the importance of an early detection of psychological well-being in these children in order to reduce the ADHD symptoms long-term impacts.