Comorbidity of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and major depression in primary school children

Abstract

The study investigated comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and depression in a sample of rural primary school children in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 320 learners participated in this study of whom 160 learners had teacher and parent identified ADHD symptoms (females = 50%; age range 6–14 years). All the learners took the Beck Depression Youth Inventory, second edition. Data were analysed applying ANOVA to investigate the possible differences between and within age, gender, and ADHD subtype group differences in depression symptomatology. Results indicated no statistically significant differences in the scores on the depression scale between the children with ADHD as identified by parents and teachers and the comparison group peers.

Keywords:

• ADHD
• comorbidity
• depression
• primary school children
• self-report

Notes

1 This study was funded by College Research Office at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.