Abstract

The identification of factors that influence attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will help to develop intervention strategies for the personal and social adjustment of these individuals. The goal of the study is to assess the perception of anxiety in a group of children and adolescents with ADHD and the anxiety that their parents believe their children have, through the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorder (SCARED). Participants were 76 children and 76 of their parents who attended a program for educational attention to students with ADHD. The SCARED was applied at the end of one of the sessions in separate spaces for children and parents. Concerning gender, 49.2% of the boys were above the SCARED cutoff point (≥25) compared with 57.1% of the girls. In the case of the parents’ perception of their children's anxiety, 50% of the fathers scored above the cutoff point versus 72.5% of the mothers. The main findings of the study indicate that there is no significant difference between boys and girls. In the comparison of fathers and mothers, significant differences were only found in the factor of generalized anxiety, favoring the mothers. Lastly, significant differences between girls/boys and parents were found in the total anxiety score of the generalized anxiety factor in favor of the parents.

Key words: Attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder, anxiety in parents, anxiety in children, self-report.