The Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre at King’s College London found that children with elevated hyperactivity or impulsivity are more likely to become socially isolated as adults.
In the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Open, the study was published. It looked into the connections between ADHD symptoms and loneliness in kids.
Data from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study was used to analyze the relationship between hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention in 2232 British children between the ages of five and twelve, as reported by their mothers and teachers.
Increased ADHD symptoms were associated with an increased risk of social isolation in later childhood, according to the study’s authors. The researchers found that hyperactive children had a higher risk of becoming socially isolated as they got older, regardless of which set of ADHD symptoms they looked at. However, social isolation was not linked to inattention symptoms alone.
“The study findings highlight the importance of enhancing peer social support and inclusion for children with ADHD, particularly in school settings,” the study reads. “This study adds explanatory value beyond traditional longitudinal methods, as the results represent how individual children change over time, relative to their own preexisting characteristics.”
