Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, and Depression

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of depression that is going untreated in adolescents with an Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. This study included high school age students (grades 9-12) who either had a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD, had never been diagnosed with depression, and who have never been treated for depression and another group who did not have a diagnosis of either ADD/ ADHD or depression. After obtaining parental permission, through a questionnaire format, the students were given the Beck Depression Inventory. A Chi-Square was performed to examine if there were significantly larger proportions of adolescents who showed clinical levels of depression among those who had an ADD/ ADHD diagnosis compared to those who did not. The study failed to support the hypothesis. However, there were 26.6% of those who were ADD/ADHD that did show clinical levels of depression. A discussion of the limitations of this study and implications for future research are given

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