Effects of methylphenidate treatment on cognitive abilities, hyperactivity and anxiety level of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Date

2005

Author

Orbay, Özge

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders in childhood among school-aged children. It is characterized by behavior disinhibition, overactivity and/or difficulty in sustaining attention. Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are reported ways of treating ADHD. Around 35% of individuals diagnosed with ADHD also met the criteria for anxiety disorders that commonly coexist with ADHD. If not treated up to 70% of children with ADHD continue to meet the diagnostic criteria into adolescence. Psychostimulants (Methylphenidate) are the first line of treatment in Turkey. The first aim of this present study was to introduce Spence Children̕s Anxiety Scale Parent version (SCAS-P) by conducting Turkish translation, factor structure, and reliability-validity studies of the scale. Results of the principle component analysis extracted five factors for the Turkish version of SCAS-P. Inter-correlations among the factors (r=0.28 ا0.45) were found to be satisfactory indicating for convergent validity. Criterion validity of the scale was found to be significant as well. Analysis indicated that the top 27th percentile of the sample was significantly differenciated from the bottom 27th percentile of the sample (t(74)=9.63, p<.05). Results revealed Cronbach alpha of .88, and the split half reliability of .79 for the total scale score. Internal consistency of the subscales of the SCAS-P ranged from 0.56 to 0.78. The second aim of this study was to examine the effects of Methylphenidate (MPH) on cognitive abilities, hyperactivity and anxiety level of children with ADHD since MPH is known to be a first line of treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Thirty-six elementary school children, from age seven to twelve were gathered from the local Hospital for the Social Security Office Child Psychiatry Clinic in Ankara via

Subject Keywords

General Social Sciences., Psychology M.S. thesis

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/2/12606401/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/15486

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis