Assessment of Alexithymia in Portuguese Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Avaliação da Alexitimia em Crianças Portuguesas com Perturbação de Hiperatividade/Défice de Atenção

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Sara Teixeira - Corresponding Author

Avenida da República, nº 1895, 1º esq, 4430-206 - Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

José Pedro Barbosa
Lara Lourenço
Daniel Gonçalves
Micaela Guardiano

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Various studies have demonstrated the existence of impairment in emotional processing in children with at-tention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, there are few studies regarding the association between alexithymia and ADHD, both in adults and children, and none in the Portuguese population.


METHODS: The accidental sample included 50 children who had been previously diagnosed with ADHD and were undergoing treatment, as well as 51 healthy children without ADHD, aged 8 to 17. To assess alexithymia, the Portuguese version of the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children was used.


RESULTS: Comparing the two groups, there were no significant differences in any of the three factors-difficulty in identifying feelings, difficulty in describing feelings and externally oriented thinking, or in the total score.


DISCUSSION: In our study, children with ADHD who were undergoing pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy had alexithymia scores similar to those in the control group.


CONCLUSION: Our study intends to reinforce the importance of emotional processing evaluation in ADHD and its relationship with therapeutic interventions, opening the door for further insight into this issue.

Keywords: Affective Symptoms;; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Child; Emotions

Article Details

1.
Teixeira S, Barbosa JP, Lourenço L, Gonçalves D, Guardiano M. Assessment of Alexithymia in Portuguese Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Avaliação da Alexitimia em Crianças Portuguesas com Perturbação de Hiperatividade/Défice de Atenção. Gaz Med [Internet]. 2019 Jun. 28 [cited 2024 Nov. 9];6(2). Available from: http://www.gazetamedica.com/index.php/gazeta/article/view/240
Section
ORIGINAL

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