Association of Anxiety, Anxiety Sensitivity and Depressive Symptoms with Aggression and Disruptive Behavioral Disorders in Children with ADHD

Numerous factors including anxiety, anxiety sensitivity (AS), and depression were reported to be relevant to the aggression both for disruptive behavioral disorders (DBD) in children and for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the pathways through which they act are insufficiently understood. To investigate the role of anxiety, AS, and depression in the relationship between aggression and DBD symptoms in ADHD children. The sample consisted of 342 treatment naïve children with ADHD aged 9-17 years. ADHD severity and comorbid DBD were assessed via parent and teacher rated Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale. Severity of anxiety, AS, depression, and reactive and proactive agression of children were evaluated by self-report inventories. The association between DBD and other psychiatric variables was evaluated with two separate structural equation models. Relationships of psychiatric variables and DBD symptoms were presented in Figures 1 and 2. Discussion: These results may suggest the presence of a vicious circle between anxiety, reactive aggression and DBD in ADHD children. However, global AS seems to have a protective effect on the development of DBD, probably due to its role in aversive conditioning. Download : Download full-size imageDownload : Download full-size imageFigure. Structural model for the perdictores of parent-rated disruptice behavioural disorders symptoms in children with ADHD Figure. Structural model for the perdictores of parent-rated disruptice behavioural disorders symptoms in children with ADHD