Attention deficiency hyperactivity disorders, internet usage properties and impulsivness in the parents of children

Objective: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders in childhood. Although there are many studies in the literature that investigate various psychiatric diseases in parents of children with ADHD, studies investigating impulsive behaviors and internet usage features are rare. In this study, it is aimed to investigate the impulsivity, internet usage features and the relationship between them among parents of children who are followed with the diagnosis of ADHD. Method: The study was carried out at Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine (ÇÜTF) Balcalı Hospital Department of Child Mental Health and Diseases. The study consists of two sample groups: The parents of children diagnosed with ADHD are 65 individuals, and 64 volunteer parents who are compatible with these individuals in terms of age, gender, and educational background, and whose children are not diagnosed with ADHD form the sample groups of the study. In addition to the socio- demographic data form and internet data form created by the authors for the participants, the 'Wender Utah Scale, the Impulse Control Disorder Scale, the Barrat Impulsivity Scale Short Form, the Young Internet Addiction Scale Short Form, the Smart Phone Addiction Scale Short Form, the Internet Game Playing Disorder Scale and the Compulsive Online Shopping Scale was implemented. Results: No difference was found between the two groups in terms of comorbidity of ADHD and other psychiatric diseases. When both groups were compared in terms of scale scores, a statistically significant relationship was found between the parents of children with ADHD group and the control group for mood regulation, conflict, recurrence, withdrawal subgroups and the total scores of Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS) (respectively; mood regulation p = 0.02; conflict p = 0.03; recurrence p = 0.03; withdrawal p = 0.03; total p = 0.02). Moreover, a significant difference between the two groups with respect to the Compulsive Online Shopping Behavior score (COSB) was found (p = 0.03). When parents of children with ADHD with and without mental illness were compared, it was found that COSB, ĠGD_Total, significance, withdrawal, relapse, mood regulation, conflict subgroups were significantly higher among parents with mental disease compared to those without mental disease (respectively COSB p <0.001, total p = 0.002, significance p = 0.004, withdrawal p = 0.001, recurrence p = 0.005, mood regulation p = 0.003, conflict p = 0.002). When parents of children with ADHD and control groups were compared with those without mental illness, COSB was found to be significantly higher in the control group (p = 0.02); when patients with mental illness were compared, a statistically significant correlation was found between the tolerance_significance, mood regulation, conflict, withdrawal subgroups and IGD total scores in the parents of children with ADHD group were determined (respectively: tolerance_specificity p=0.01, mood regulation p = 0.01, conflict p = 0.003; withdrawal p = 0.003; total p = 0.01). When the groups were compared by working or not and by gender there was no significant difference in terms of impulsivity and internet use. The mean scores on the UPPS impulsive behavior scale were higher for parents of children with ADHD than for the control group (p = 0.03). When the parents of children with ADHD and control groups were compared with those without mental illness, the Short Form of Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BĠS), UPPS Impulsive Behavior_ congestion and persistence subscales were found to be significantly higher in the parents of children with ADHD group (BĠS p = 0.03, congestion p = 0.02, persistence p = 0.03, respectively). In the control group, among those with and without mental illness, UPPS was found to be higher in the impulse subgroup of patients with mental illness (p <0.001). Conclusion: In our study, in terms of impulsivity, no difference was found between parents of children with ADHD and the control groups. Between parents of children with ADHD group and control groups, the total scores of ĠGD, mood regulation, conflict, and relapse subscales of the parents of children with ADHD group were significantly higher and the COSB scale was higher in the control group. It will be useful to work with larger samples of parents of children with ADHD to reveal various other relationships related to this. Keywords: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Internet use Internet Playing Disorder, impulsiv