Peer Victimization in Preadolescent Children With ADHD: A Controlled Follow-up Study.

INTRODUCTION: The present study examines bullying and its psychological consequences in school age children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: The sample consisted of 34 children with ADHD and 36 children without ADHD. Continuity of bullying and victimization and their relationship with psychological problems and quality of life (QoL) were examined at two time points (T1 and T2) with one-year interval. RESULTS: Children with ADHD experienced significantly more bullying and victimization than controls at both times. There was a marginally significant positive relationship between victimization scores at T1 and internalizing problems at T2 for the total sample. For both groups separately, victimization scores at T2 was significantly related with QoL and internalizing problems at T2. DISCUSSION: School-age children with ADHD are at risk for bullying and victimization and their short-term negative effects. Timely interventions should be used to overcome the possible negative effects of peer victimization.

Videoconference anxiety: Conceptualization, scale development, and preliminary validation.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, activities involving a large part of life have started to be carried out via videoconferencing. Videoconferencing can be disadvantageous for individuals with social anxiety due to increased social presence, decreased mutual understanding, and awkward communication. The authors aimed to develop a scale to explore the difficulties experienced by individuals with social anxiety during videoconferencing. A total of 598 children and adolescents participated in the study. The data were collected with the Sociodemographic Information Form, the Videoconference Anxiety Scale, and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. According to exploratory factor analysis, the scale consisted of 25 items and a single factor. Factor loads were between 0.62 and 0.81; the single factor explained 52.95% of the variance. This study shows that the Videoconference Anxiety Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for Turkish children.

Peer Victimization in Preadolescent Children With ADHD in Turkey.

The present study aims to investigate peer victimization and its relationship with comorbid psychiatric diagnoses and quality of life (QoL) among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study sample consisted of 66 children with ADHD (mean age = 8.6 ± 1.1 years) and age- and gender-matched 66 controls (mean age = 8.5 ± 1.3 years). In self-reports, the ADHD group reported significantly higher rates of victimization and bullying than the non-ADHD group. Verbal and physical forms of victimization and bullying were the most prevalent forms in both groups; however, exclusion from peer groups, which is named as relational bullying, was the most significantly differing type between two groups. QoL parameters did not significantly differ between the children involved in bullying and those not involved, except for the lower physical QoL in victimized children in the control group. In conclusion, peer victimization was significantly more prevalent in the ADHD group than the non-ADHD group. Preventive measures are needed for peer victimization, especially for children with ADHD.

Duration of Breastfeeding, Bottle-Feeding, and Parafunctional Oral Habits in Relation to Anxiety Disorders Among Children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to investigate the duration of breastfeeding in relation to various parafunctional oral habits in children with anxiety disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study includes 195 children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and age- and gender-matched 255 healthy control subjects. Diagnoses were made with semistructured interview (K-SADS). Information about breastfeeding and parafunctional oral habits was investigated via a questionnaire prepared for the study. RESULTS: The mean age was 11.50 ± 2.50 years for clinical group and 11.27 ± 2.33 years for controls. Fifty-four percent of the clinical group and 56% of the control group were female subjects. Duration of exclusive (4.72 ± 2.86, 5.55 ± 2.36; p = 0.002) and total breastfeeding (12.38 ± 10.32, 15.89 ± 9.09; p < 0.001) was significantly lower and duration of bottle-feeding (22.30 ± 19.54, 16.64 ± 12.79; p = 0.005) was higher than controls in the clinical group. Duration of exclusive breastfeeding was significantly correlated with duration of bottle-feeding (r = -0.263, p < 0.001) and duration of pacifier use (r = -0.249, p = 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that duration of exclusive breastfeeding (ß = 0.88, p = 0.006) and bottle-feeding (ß = 1.02, p = 0.005), as well as various oral habits, was associated with diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. CONCLUSION: Nutrition methods in early years of life may result in long-term consequences regarding anxiety disorders for children. Clinicians should encourage parents for a shorter duration of bottle-feeding and a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding.