Symposia
ADHD - Child
Lisa B. Thorell, Ph.D.
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Charlotte Skoglund, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm, Sodermanlands Lan, Sweden
Almudena Giménez De La Peña, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Málaga
Málaga, Andalucia, Spain
Dieter Baeyens, Ph.D.
Associate professor
KU Leuven
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
Anselm B.M. Fuermaier, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Groningen
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Madeleine J. Groom, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Nottingham
Nottingham, England, United Kingdom
Irene Mammarella, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Padua
Padova, Veneto, Italy
Saskia van den oord, PhD
Professor
KU Leuven
Leuven, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Barbara van den Hoofdakker, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Groningen
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Marjolein L Luman, PhD
associate professor
VU
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Hanna Christiensen, Ph.D.
Professor
Philipps University Marburg
Margburg, Hessen, Germany
It is well-known that the medical consequences of COVID-19 have been severe, but far less is known about the consequences on education and mental health in children and adolescents. It has been hypothesized that children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of school closures during the pandemic. However, few large-scaled studies have investigated effects in clinical samples. Here, it should also be important to consider that ADHD is a very heterogeneous disorder, which is linked to several different underlying neuropsychological deficits.
Questionnaire data from parents (n = 6720) were collected during the first phase of the pandemic (April – June 2020) in seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Families with a child with ADHD were over-sampled. The survey included questions about negative and positive effects of homeschooling, as well as executive functioning deficits in both parents and children.
Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for both their children and themselves. Many also felt that the homeschooling was of poor quality, with insufficient support from the school. Differences between countries were generally small, but negative effects were more common in families with a child with ADHD. Importantly, it was children with ADHD in combination with poor executive functioning (i.e., deficits in working memory and inhibitory control) who experienced the most serious negative effects. Parents’ own executive deficits were also associated with negative effects. Finally, it should be noted that some positive effects of homeschooling were also reported.
The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities among students. Policymakers therefore need to carefully consider the negative consequence of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. In addition, the results of the present study emphasize the need to regard ADHD as a heterogeneous disorder and schools therefore need to provide support based on the needs of individual students rather than diagnosis.