The relationship between the theory of mind skills and disorder severity among adolescents with ADHD

摘要

Objective: This study aimed to examine the subdimensions of the theory of mind (ToM) and to investigate the relationship between ToM skills and disorder severity by comparing adolescents with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) with healthy individuals. Methods: The study included 42 adolescents with ADHD and educationand age-matched 41 healthy volunteers. Smarties Test, Ice Cream Truck Test, Faux Pas Recognition Test, and Eyes Test were applied to all participants. Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale (T-DSM-IV-S) were applied to the ADHD group to measure the disorder severity. Results: The ADHD group was seen to have ToM skills impairment. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of ice cream truck test, faux pas recognition test, and eye tests. A significant correlation was observed between the T-DSM-IV-S results and Eyes test results of the patients. Discussion: This study has shown that advanced ToM skills can be impaired in adolescents with ADHD and that impairment in skills is associated with disorder severity.