Behavior Symptoms among Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Psychosocial Intervention through Mothers

Ghulam  Fatima; Sarfraz  Masih; Shazia  Maqbool

doi:10.29054/apmc/2023.1310

Ghulam Fatima MSN Student, Lahore School of Nursing, The University of Lahore Pakistan
Sarfraz Masih Principal, Associate Professor, Lahore School of Nursing, The University of Lahore, Lahore Pakistan
Shazia Maqbool Professor, Head of Developmental Peads Department, The Children Hospital and University of Child Health Sciences, Lahore Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29054/apmc/2023.1310

Keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity, Behavioral symptoms, Children

Abstract

Background: The physical, emotional, and psychological health of children, as well as their family and the community at large, are all negatively impacted by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Which also has a significant effect on children's behavior. ADHD is linked to problems with family functioning, problems in the parent-child bond (particularly with mothers), worse parenting efficacy, and higher levels of parental stress. Objective: To determine the effect of mothers' psychosocial interventions on the behavioral symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Settings: Developmental OPD of Tertiary Care hospital Lahore Punjab Pakistan. Duration: The duration of data collection was 09 months after the approval of synopsis from Research Ethical Committee (REC), The University of Lahore. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the developmental OPD of Tertiary Care hospital Lahore Punjab. The study participants were mothers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder. Purposive sampling technique was used, total 45 participants in each intervention and control group was recruited. A validated questionnaire of Behavior Disorder Rating Scale consisted of 45 items was used. Data were collected by primary researcher and entered into SPSS version 21. Results: The study observed that majority of the mothers were aged 26-30, with 52.2% having a family size of 3-6 people and 47.7% having more than 6 people in family. Among mothers of ADHD children, 20% lived in rural areas and 80% in urban areas. ADHD children aged 4-8 were 72.2% of the sample. In the control group, 75.6% of ADHD children had borderline behavior, compared to 64.4% in the intervention group. Initial mean ranks for the control group were 45.51, significantly rising to 65.30 post-assessment. There is a need for psychosocial intervention through mothers to decrease the behavioral symptoms of children with ADHD. Conversely, in the intervention group the pre-intervention mean score of behavioral symptoms was (45.49) which significantly decreased after intervention (25.70) (p>.001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is an effect of psychosocial intervention on the behavioral symptoms of children with ADHD.