Health-related quality of life and peer relationships in adolescents with developmental coordination disorder and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder

AimHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) and peer relationships were investigated in adolescents with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). MethodAdolescents with DCD (n=9), ADHD (n=9), DCD and ADHD (n=10), and typically developing adolescents (n=16) completed the following questionnaires: KIDSCREEN-52 Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire and Peer Relations Questionnaire for Children. Twenty-five participants took part in semi-structured interviews. ResultsAdolescents with DCD and ADHD had lower HRQoL on the mood and emotions, school environment, and financial resources scales of the KIDSCREEN-52 than adolescents in the DCD and typically developing groups (all p<0.05). On the Peer Relations Questionnaire for Children, the DCD and ADHD group reported significantly higher victimization compared with those in the typically developing (p=0.030) and DCD (p=0.010) groups. Qualitative interviews among young people with DCD and ADHD revealed feelings of marginalization and victimization. Descriptors such as misfits', oddballs', weird', and the rejects' were used to describe themselves. InterpretationHRQoL and peer relationships are negatively affected in adolescents with DCD and ADHD.