Determining the Role of Attachment Styles and Executive Functions in Predicting Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder in Junior High School Students

One of the most crucial stages of life is adolescence in which personality is established. Overlooking challenges and behavioral–emotional problems of this stage will likely result in more maladjustment and behavioral disorders in adulthood. Attention–deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder that is the most common disorder among children. Although the researchers worked on the genetic and neurological etiology of ADHD, in two recent decades, more attention is now paid to the importance of environment as a cause of symptoms of ADHD. One of the environmental aspects to study the etiology of ADHD is the attachment style of children. Sonuga–Barke (2003) referred to a model with two paths to explain cognitive deficits in children with ADHD. The first path is executive dysfunctions which are related to response disinhibition. All people with ADHD have deficits in executive functions, and ADHD is basically a developmental disorder in executive functions. So, the present research aimed to investigate the effects of attachment styles and executive functions in the prediction of ADHD in junior high school students.

The method of the present research was correlational analysis. The statistical population was all junior high school students of Khoy City, Iran and their parents in 2020–2021 that were selected by multi–stages clustering sampling method. First, four high schools were selected among all high schools randomly. Then, five classes were selected from each high school. Next, ten students were selected from each class randomly. The final sample included 200 students. The inclusion criteria were as follows: being junior high school student, living with parents, being aware of study aims, and providing informed consent. The exclusion criteria were divorce of parents, death of one of the parents and unwillingness to participate in the research. Research tools were Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (Short Form ((Conners et al., 1998), Attachment Style Questionnaire (Collins & Read, 1990), and Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children (Coolidge et al., 2002). In this research, we used descriptive statistics (frequency, frequency percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (the conventional correlation and multivariate linear regression statistical methods) in SPSS version 24 software at a significance level of 0.01.

There was a correlation between secure, avoidant, and ambivalent attachment styles and executive function deficits with variables of ADHD (p<0.01). Also, secure attachment style (Beta=–0.22, p<0.001), avoidant attachment style (Beta=0.20, p<0.001), ambivalent attachment style (Beta=0.17, p<0.001) and deficits in executive functions (Beta=0.28, p<0.001) had an effect on ADHD.

Based on the findings of the research, secure attachment style negatively and ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles and defects in executive functions positively predict the incidence of ADHD in the students.