Association Between Youth Violence Exposure and ADHD Symptoms

Youth exposure to violence is a significant public health problem, with exposure estimates ranging from 9% to as high as 60%. Research suggests that ADHD, a disorder marked by symptoms of impulsivity, hyperactivity, and/or inattention, is more common among trauma-exposed children, but has not been examined as a function of violence exposure. The current study was designed to assess the association between violence exposure and symptoms of ADHD. Data from 4,621 5th graders and their primary caregivers in the Healthy Passages study, a multi-site study of adolescent health, were used. Youth indicated whether they had witnessed and/or been victims of any of 4 violent events (threatened; beaten up; threatened/injured with a gun; threatened/injured with a knife). Caregivers endorsed whether the youth exhibited 8 items assessing inattention and hyperactivity. Findings indicated a greater number of ADHD symptoms along a gradient of violence exposure, such that the highest number of symptoms were endorsed for the group who reported both witnessing and victimization (M = 2.6, SD =2.5), followed by the witnessing-violence-only group (M = 2.1, SD =2.1), and the no-violence-exposure-group (M = 1.9, SD =2.0). After controlling for child gender, race/ethnicity, income, and child self-reported problem behaviors in multivariate regression, those children who both witnessed and were victims of violence exhibited more ADHD symptoms relative to those with no violence exposure or witnessing only. This study documents an association between violence exposure and the expression of ADHD symptoms among children. Implications, limitations, and alternative explanations will be discussed.