Examining mother–adolescent agreement and related factors in quality of life reports of adolescents with ADHD and anxiety disorders

Aim: Informant agreement in quality of life (QoL) assessments is often reported to be low to moderate. This study aimed to examine the agreement between adolescent and maternal reports of adolescents' QoL in those diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety disorders (AD), and to identify factors influencing this agreement. Material and Method: The study included 54 adolescents with ADHD and 55 with AD, aged 14–18, and their mothers. Clinicians completed the Clinical Global Impression–Severity Scale. Adolescents and mothers completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and the Quality of Mother-Adolescent Relationship Questionnaire and the Parental Stress Scale. Additionally, mothers of adolescents with ADHD completed the Turgay DSM-IV Disruptive Behavior Disorders Child and Adolescent Screening and Rating Scale, while mothers of adolescents with AD completed the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale–Parent Version. Analyses included correlation, multiple linear regression, and moderation testing. Results: A moderate correlation was found between adolescent and maternal reports of QoL in the AD group, whereas no significant correlation was observed in the ADHD group. In the AD group, symptom severity (ΔR²=0.60; p<.001) and positive parent–adolescent relationship (ΔR²=0.16; p=.007) significantly predicted QoL. In the ADHD group, only adolescent-reported symptom severity predicted QoL (ΔR²=0.20; p=.008). No moderation effect was found on informant agreement. Conclusion: In adolescents with ADHD or anxiety disorders, adolescent–parent discrepancies in QoL assessments may vary by diagnosis and be influenced by symptom severity and family relationships. Keywords: Anxiety Disorders, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Health-Related Quality of Life, Parent-Child Agreement