Child maltreatment and ADHD symptoms in a sample of young adults

The present study investigated the relationship between different types of childhood maltreatment (emotional, sexual, overall abuse, and no abuse) and the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young adulthood. Data were collected from a Danish national study conducted by The Danish National Centre for Social Research in 2008 and 2009. A sample of 4,718 young adults (24 years of age) were randomly selected using the total birth cohort of children born in 1984. Structured interviews were conducted with a response rate of 63%, equating to a total sample size of 2,980 participants. Chi-square analyses revealed significant relationships between child maltreatment groups and a probable diagnosis of ADHD using the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the overall abuse class was more strongly associated with probable ADHD (OR=5.08), followed by emotional abuse (OR=3.09) and sexual abuse (OR=2.07). The results showed that childhood maltreatment was associated with increased risk of ADHD symptoms in young adulthood. The findings of this study are discussed within the existing literature and suggestions for future research are outlined in order to replicate these findings in other adult populations. Child maltreatment is associated with higher levels of ADHD symptoms in a nationally representative sample of young Danish adults. Co-occurring (multiple) types of maltreatment display stronger associations with ADHD symptoms with attenuated effects for sexual abuse. Males confer stronger associations with ADHD symptoms than females. Findings underscore the importance of exploring the role of childhood trauma in young adults with ADHD symptoms.

本研究旨在探讨不同类型童年虐待（包括情感虐待、性虐待、总体虐待及无虐待）与青年成年期注意缺陷多动障碍（Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder，ADHD）症状之间的关联。本研究数据取自丹麦国家社会研究中心于2008至2009年开展的一项丹麦全国性研究。研究以1984年出生的所有儿童出生队列作为抽样框架，随机选取了4718名24岁的青年成年人作为初始样本。通过结构化访谈完成数据收集，最终应答率为63%，有效样本量达2980名参与者。卡方检验结果显示，童年虐待组别与采用成人注意缺陷多动障碍自我报告量表（Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale，ASRS）筛查出的疑似ADHD诊断存在显著关联。二元逻辑回归分析表明，总体虐待组与疑似ADHD的关联强度最高（优势比OR=5.08），其次为情感虐待组（OR=3.09）与性虐待组（OR=2.07）。研究结果显示，童年虐待与青年成年期ADHD症状的患病风险升高存在显著关联。本文结合现有文献对本研究结果进行了讨论，并提出了未来在其他成人人群中重复验证本研究结果的相关研究建议。本研究基于丹麦全国代表性样本发现，童年虐待与丹麦青年成年人的ADHD症状水平升高显著相关。共病（多重）虐待类型与ADHD症状的关联更强，但性虐待的效应有所减弱。相较于女性群体，男性群体中童年虐待与ADHD症状的关联强度更高。本研究结果凸显了探究童年创伤在出现ADHD症状的青年成年群体中作用的重要性。