Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among School Children of Prayagraj District, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract In India, few studies that are available report prevalence rates of ADHD ranging from 10 to 20%, which is quite alarming. While the Western world is attending to ADHD issue seriously, in India this has not yet received much attention. Children with ADHD are characterized as having poor behavioral inhibition (Barkley, 1997). In India there is very little systematic research in ADHD in children, especially in Prayagraj District. Hence, the present study aimed to find out the prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among School Children of Prayagraj District, Uttar Pradesh. Purposive sample method was used for the sample selection. The sample comprised of children identified by the teachers with ADHD from standard 2nd to 8th studying in different 15 schools of Praygraj District of Uttar Pradesh, with an average IQ. 114 children identified with ADHD by the teachers having average IQ were taken for the study. Each child identified by the teacher was individually assessed by using formal tests such as Coloured / Standard Progressive Matrices (Raven 1998, 2000) and ADHD Checklist & Rating Scale (Tripathi & Hasan, 2015). Results suggest that most of the children with ADHD (71.9%) were 12-14 years of age, studying in classes 6th to 8th (57.9%) and were from nuclear family (64.9%). Out of 2831 children identified by the teachers, only 4.02% (114) children were identified having ADHD. The findings further depicts that the maximum number of children with ADHD (were Males (56.1%). The finding of the research is an indicator that school children need proper attention. It may be useful for the teachers, psychiatrist, counselors and parents for creating awareness in the society and suggesting management strategies to handle such sensitive issues.