(PS11-B41) The Impact of COVID-19 on ADHD Symptoms

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is estimated to affect between 2-7% of children worldwide. Active home and school environments that incorporate structured routines, movement, social interaction, and access to stimulating and novel activities are crucial in promoting the success of children with ADHD. The COVID-19 pandemic caused worldwide school closures and a shift to indoor activities and diminished social interaction. Due to these sudden changes, it was expected that children with ADHD would develop worsening symptoms. However, current research from different countries reveals that ADHD symptoms did not worsen significantly throughout the pandemic.

Taiwan had outstanding control over the COVD-19 outbreak and maintained in-person schooling throughout the pandemic. However, due to the strict imposition of regulations, social pressures related to COVID-19 precautions were even more extreme in Taiwan than in other countries. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting social pressures on children with ADHD in Taiwan compared with other countries.

We constructed a repeated measures design and recruited 215 Taiwanese parents of children with ADHD to fill out an online survey in June 2020. Parents answered questions on a five point Likert scale about their child’s behaviors across multiple domains including attention, neatness, quietness, interrupting adults, listening to instructions, anger frequency, eating, sleeping, and daily routine maintenance. The questionnaire was divided into two parts: (I) parents first reported on their child’s current behaviors in June 2020 and (II) parents then reported retrospectively on their child’s behaviors at the outset of the pandemic in February 2020.

Results revealed that ADHD symptoms showed minimal change in the first four months of the pandemic. Paired samples t-tests comparing the means of each behavior domain from February to June 2020 showed that surprisingly, children with ADHD had slight increases in attentional abilities (increase in M = .15, p = .004), perhaps related to greater parent attention and fewer distractions leading to an increased ability to focus. At the same time, they had a significant decrease in their neatness (keeping their room tidy; decrease in M = .11, p = .036), perhaps suggesting less motivation and/or ability to do so. There also was a non-significant trend suggesting children became quieter during this time (decrease in M = .10, p = .069).

These findings replicate research from other countries which show minimal changes in ADHD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fairly stable symptom occurrence across different and changing environments speaks to the strong biological influences on the development of ADHD. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic paves the way for further research to pry into biological causes while environments that were once unchangeable begin to shift.