Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome: The Role of Parent and Teacher Questionnaires in Assessing the Social and Psychological Adaptation of Patients

The “Strengths and Difficulties” questionnaire was put to the parents and teachers of 342 schoolchildren aged 7–11 years using a non-randomized method. Questionnaire data from parents and teachers on children with ADHD and their peers were then compared. The spectrum of impairments arising in ADHD was found not to be restricted to the main symptoms of ADHD. Questionnaires completed by both parents and teachers showed that emotional impairments, behavioral problems, difficulties interacting with peers, and underdevelopment of social behavior were significantly more severe in children with ADHD as compared with healthy children. These results demonstrate the need for treatment to extend beyond addressing the basic symptoms to consider more general measures of patients’ quality of life.