The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with ADHD in terms of participation, support, and barriers at home
Source : https://www.pediatricnursing.org/article/S0882-5963(23)00064-7/fulltext
Based on COVID-19's long-term effects, ADHD children participated less in home activities than their peers. * Children with ADHD participate frequently and were more involved in computer and video games than their peers. * Cognitive demands restricted their home participation and involvement in home while supporting non-ADHD children.
Conclusions: Children with ADHD were negatively affected in terms of participating in home activities than their typically developing peers. In addition, cognitive demands prevented their participation and involvement in the home environment while cognitive demands were a support for non-ADHD children.
• Source: Journal of Pediatric Nursing
• Conclusions/Relevance: “Children with ADHD were negatively affected in terms of participating in home activities than their typically developing peers. In addition, cognitive demands prevented their participation and involvement in the home environment while cognitive demands were a support for non-ADHD children.”
• Turkish researchers assessed the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 227 children (mean age: years; 116 children; 111, without ADHD) based on surveys of parents or primary caregivers.
• Children with ADHD played more computer/video games. Children without ADHD more frequently participated in arts, music, crafts, and hobbies. A moderate effect size was noted with regard to cognitive demands, which contributed to the difficulty of ADHD children to take part in home activities.
• “One of the most serious issues for children with ADHD and their parents was the increase in screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors wrote. “These findings indicate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, children with ADHD may have developed a habit of playing computer and video games more than their peers.”
• The authors found that parents of children without ADHD have higher expectations, thus equipping their homes with more equipment to support bobbies.
• In the short term, the lockdown could have relieved stress on children with ADHD in terms of peer victimization and problems at school. In the long term, the pandemic made reintegration in to the social structure more difficult for these children.
• The parents of children with ADHD were keener to reduce their childrens’ exposure to gaming, as well as boost hobbies, sports activities, homework engagement, and socialization. Parents of children with ADHD also wanted their kids to help out more with household chores, although there was no difference in this measure between children with or without ADHD.
• Limitations of the current study include familiarity with patients in the control group and the cross-sectional design.