Kılıç Buket, Ünal Dilek, Bingöl Muhammed Enes
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Balıklıgöl State Hospital, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye.
Turk J Pediatr. 2025 May 4;67(2):208-220. doi: 10.24953/turkjpediatr.2025.5460.
This study aimed to determine whether children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continue to receive this diagnosis during adolescence and young adulthood, and to examine the relationships between autistic traits, psychological resilience, emotion regulation levels, and the continuity of diagnosis.
In the initial evaluations conducted between 2012 and 2013, 121 children diagnosed with ADHD began medication treatment. From this group, 20 participants aged 13 to 25 who agreed to participate in the second evaluation, conducted between 2020 and 2022, were included in this study. The presence of ADHD in their second evaluation was determined using the DSM-5 criteria. Psychiatric comorbidities in adolescents were screened using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children - Present and Lifetime Version, 2016 Turkish Adaptation of the DSM-5, while for adults, the DSM-5 criteria were utilized. Parents completed the Social Responsiveness Scale and the Family Assessment Device, while the young participants completed the Child and Youth Resilience Measure and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale.
Among the participants, 10 individuals (50%) continued to have an ADHD diagnosis, exhibiting lower psychological resilience and significantly more autistic traits. No difference in emotional dysregulation was observed between those with and without an ADHD diagnosis, and a negative relationship between autistic traits and psychological resilience was identified.
The continuity of an ADHD diagnosis during adolescence and young adulthood may be associated with psychological resilience and autistic traits. However, the limited number of participants and the cross-sectional design highlight the need for larger longitudinal studies to further explore the cause-and-effect relationships.
本研究旨在确定被诊断为注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的儿童在青少年期和青年期是否仍保持该诊断，并检验自闭症特质、心理韧性、情绪调节水平与诊断连续性之间的关系。
在2012年至2013年进行的初始评估中，121名被诊断为ADHD的儿童开始药物治疗。从该组中，选取了20名年龄在13至25岁之间且同意参与2020年至2022年期间进行的第二次评估的参与者纳入本研究。在第二次评估中，使用《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第五版（DSM-5）标准确定是否存在ADHD。青少年的精神共病情况使用《学龄儿童情感障碍和精神分裂症量表——当前和终生版》（2016年土耳其语改编版的DSM-5）进行筛查，而成人则使用DSM-5标准。父母完成了社会反应量表和家庭评估工具，而年轻参与者完成了儿童和青少年心理韧性量表以及情绪调节困难量表。
在参与者中，有10人（50%）仍被诊断为ADHD，他们表现出较低的心理韧性和明显更多的自闭症特质。在有和没有ADHD诊断的参与者之间，未观察到情绪失调方面的差异，并且发现自闭症特质与心理韧性之间存在负相关关系。
ADHD诊断在青少年期和青年期的连续性可能与心理韧性和自闭症特质有关。然而，参与者数量有限以及横断面设计突出表明需要进行更大规模的纵向研究，以进一步探索因果关系。
