Relationship between Bullying Victimization and Quality of Life in Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Taiwan: Mediation of the Effects of Emotional Problems and ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Symptoms

Chien-Wen Lin; Kun-Hua Lee; Ray C Hsiao; Wen-Jiun Chou; Cheng-Fang Yen

doi:10.3390/ijerph18189470

Relationship between Bullying Victimization and Quality of Life in Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Taiwan: Mediation of the Effects of Emotional Problems and ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Symptoms

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 8;18(18):9470. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189470.

Authors

Chien-Wen Lin¹, Kun-Hua Lee², Ray C Hsiao^{3

4}, Wen-Jiun Chou^{5

6}, Cheng-Fang Yen^{1

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
² Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
⁵ College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
⁸ College of Professional Studies, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan.

Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated the mediating effects of emotional problems including depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms on the association between bullying victimization and quality of life (QoL) among adolescents with ADHD in Taiwan. A total of 171 adolescents diagnosed as having ADHD participated in this study. Adolescents completed the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire, the Taiwanese Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adolescents, the Taiwanese version of the Children's Depression Inventory and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. Caregivers completed the Chinese version of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Version IV Scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relationships among the variables. The results of SEM revealed that bullying victimization indirectly correlated with QoL through the mediation of emotional problems in adolescents with ADHD, whereas ADHD and ODD symptoms did not mediate the association between bullying victimization and QoL. Bullying victimization should be actively prevented and intervened on to ensure better QoL in adolescents with ADHD. Moreover, emotional problems should be alleviated among adolescents with ADHD with bullying victimization experience to maintain their QoL.

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; bullying victimization; children; emotional problems; oppositional defiant disorder; psychological well-being; quality of life.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity*
Bullying*
Child
Crime Victims*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Quality of Life
Taiwan / epidemiology