Citation
Wise, Barbara & Ford, Jodi (2014). Social network characteristics of adolescents with ADHD. 2014 Add Health Users Conference. Bethesda, MD.Abstract
Purpose: Peer problems have been well documented among children with ADHD, but less so among adolescents, and the friendship networks of teens with ADHD have not been described. The purpose of this study is to compare the friendship networks of adolescents with ADHD to those without ADHD. Methods: Adolescents whose childhood symptoms met ADHD criteria were identified by retrospective self-report in Wave III. Wave I public use pre-constructed network variables and in-school questionnaires were utilized in the analysis. Independent variables: ADHD inattentive (ADHDIN), ADHD hyperactive (ADHDHI), ADHD combined (ADHDCI) Dependent variables: Perceived social acceptance, social network measures, extracurricular activities Findings/discussion: Social acceptance was lower for ADHDIN and ADHDHI. In-degree was lower for ADHDHI, and out-degree was lower for ADHDIN. Centrality was lower for ADHDIN and ADHDCI. Strength of ties was higher for ADHDHI. Reach, proximity prestige, and percentage of isolates and pendants were non-significant, but Reach was lower in ADHDIN. Total number of extracurricular activities was lower for both ADHDIN and ADHDHI. The findings of this study support the more recent research that has identified inattentive symptoms as more correlated with social difficulties than hyperactive symptoms in adolescents. Further research is needed to explore the developmental trajectory of these differences and associated outcomes.URL
https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/docs/events/20140613_Add_Health_Users_Conference_Abstracts.pdfReference Type
Conference proceedingBook Title
2014 Add Health Users ConferenceAuthor(s)
Wise, BarbaraFord, Jodi