Assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, impulsivity, and associated factors in pregnant adolescents

In this study, it was aimed to investigate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), impulsivity, quality of life and related factors in a group of pregnant adolescents. For this purpose, 50 pregnant adolescent aged 12-19 years who applied to the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinic of Akdeniz University Medical Faculty Hospital; and 55 controls matched in terms of sociodemographic characteristics were included in the study. All subjects were screened in terms of impulsivity, ADHD, and quality of life with the The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), Conners-Wells Adolescent Self-Report Scale (CASS-L), and The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). In addition, whether any contraceptive method was used, gestational week, pregnancy complication(s), previous pregnancies (if any), and age of the baby's father for the study group; and age, education level, previous psychiatric diagnosis, marital status, who they lived with, whether they had a forensic process, whether they were sexually active, history of smoking, alcohol and substance use, and history of trauma for the 2 groups were also recorded. ADHD and impulsivity were found to be significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group. The fact that physical health subscale scores of the PedsQL were lower in pregnant adolescents compared to the control group indicates that physical health is adversely affected during pregnancy. Considering the sociodemographic data, it was seen that the education level of the study group was lower than the control group, the majority of the study group did not attend school, and the academic achievement of the pregnant adolescents attending school was significantly lower than the control group. In addition, it was observed that the mothers of pregnant adolescents received less education than the mothers of the control group and the rate of pregnancy under the age of 18 was higher. Considering the correlations between the scales; the statistically significant negative correlation between the subscales of CASS-L (family problems, emotional problems, ADHD index, DSM-IV symptoms; inattention and DSM-IV symptoms) and PedsQL supports that the presence of ADHD significantly impairs the patients' quality of life. In conclusion; untreated ADHD and impulsivity significantly increase the risk of early and unplanned pregnancy due to risky sexual behaviors, early sexual experiences, and unprotected sexual intercourse. Adolescent pregnancy is an important problem all over the world in terms of the health of both the adolescent who has not reached physically and mentally sufficient maturity, and the child to be born. Adolescent mothers may not be able to continue their education and may have difficulties in providing qualified care, health care and education to their children due to lack of knowledge, experience and economic inadequacies, and this may lead to a cycle of poverty that continues for generations. For all these reasons, identifying this risky group better and preparing early intervention, protection and support programs will be beneficial in terms of reducing adolescent pregnancy and its possible negative consequences. Keywords: Adolescent pregnancy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, impulsivity, quality of life