Association of Reactive-Proactive Aggression and Anxiety

Association of Reactive-Proactive Aggression and Anxiety

Association of Reactive-Proactive Aggression and Anxiety
Sensitivity with Internalizing and Externalizing
Symptoms in Children with AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
Bilgiç A, Tufan AE, Yılmaz S, Özcan Ö, Özmen S, Öztop D, Türkoğlu S, Akça ÖF, Yar A, Işık Ü, Çolak Sivri R,
Polat H, Irmak A, Dönmez YE, Çon Bayhan P, Uçur Ö, Cansız MA, Savcı U.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2016 Mar 31. [Epub ahead of print]
Abstract
This study evaluates the associations among the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and disruptive behavioral
disorders (DBD) in the context of their relationships with reactive-proactive aggression and anxiety sensitivity in
children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The sample consisted of 342 treatment-naive
children with ADHD. The severity of ADHD and DBD symptoms were assessed via parent- and teacher-rated
inventories. Anxiety sensitivity, reactive-proactive aggression and severity of anxiety and depression symptoms of
children were evaluated by self-report inventories. According to structural equation modeling, depression and
anxiety scores had a relation with the DBD scores through reactive-proactive aggression. Results also showed a
negative relation of the total scores of anxiety sensitivity on DBD scores, while conduct disorder scores had a
positive relation with anxiety scores. This study suggests that examining the relations of reactive-proactive
aggression and anxiety sensitivity with internalizing and externalizing disorders could be useful for understanding
the link among these disorders in ADHD.