Status quo and its influencing factors of social anxiety in school-age children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Objective To investigate the current situation of social anxiety in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to analyze the factors influencing social anxiety in ADHD children, in order to provide reference for improving the clinical management of ADHD children. Methods A total of 206 school-age children with ADHD were selected from the Children's Psychology Clinic of Mianyang Central Hospital from January 2020 to January 2023. The relevant clinical data of the children were collected through the general data questionnaire. Children's Social Anxiety Scale (SASC) was used to assess social anxiety, and the Social Response Scale (SRS) was used to assess social ability. The Chinese version of Swanson,Nolan and Pelham Rating Scale Ⅳ(SNAP-Ⅳ) was used to assess core symptoms. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to determine influencing factors of social anxiety in children with ADHD. Results There were 128(62.14%) cases detected with social anxiety among 206 children with ADHD. The score of SASC was 14.02±4.06. The proportions of girls (χ²=6.057), comorbid autism spectrum disorder(ASD) (χ²=4.929), and main caregivers with junior high school education or below (χ²=13.345), the total score of SRS(t=5.842) and SNAP-Ⅳ(t=7.848) and the scores of all dimensions were significantly higher than those in the non-anxious group (P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that higher SRS total score(OR=5.217,95%CI: 2.309 - 11.791), higher SNAP-Ⅳ total score(OR=4.150,95%CI: 1.974 - 8.722), girls(OR=2.268, 95%CI: 1.423 - 3.616), primary caregivers with junior high school education or below (OR=1.527,95%CI: 1.162 - 2.005), and comorbid ASD (OR=1.551,95%CI: 1.209 - 1.990) were risk factors for social anxiety in ADHD children (P<0.05). Conclusions Children with ADHD have a higher prevalence rate of social anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy and psychological intervention should be strengthened for high-risk children to improve social ability and reduce the risk of social anxiety.

Keywords

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder / social anxiety / social skills / core symptom / gender / primary caregiver