ABSTRACT

This study investigated the association between negative peer functioning and social/familial risk factors with the occurrence of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among Italian primary school children. We hypothesized that negative peer functioning and the cumulative number of indexes of adversity would be independently associated to ADHD. We also tested for gender moderated effects. 103 primary school children (48 girls, 46.6%; Mage = 8.25, SD = .61, Range = 6-10), their parents and their teachers took part into this study. The assessment included a measurement of: symptoms of attention deficit (ADD) and hyperactivity (HYP), conflictual and affective friendship quality, prosocial and aggression behaviors and emotional and behavioral instability. In addition, an index of social risk was assessed by considering multiple social and familial risk factors. Results showed that conflictual friendship quality and aggressive behaviors were positively associated with symptoms of ADD and HYP respectively, while higher social risk was associated to higher HYP especially among girls.

KEYWORDS: ADHD, peer functioning, social and familial risk, gender differences

PAGES: 315-333