Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and social dysfunctioning
Open accessAbstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with functional impairments in different areas of daily life. One such area is social functioning. The purpose of this paper is to critically review research on social dysfunctioning in children with ADHD. Children with ADHD often have conflicts with adults and peers, and suffer from unpopularity, rejection by peers, and a lack of friendships, in part as a consequence of their ADHD symptoms. Comorbid oppositional defiant or conduct disorder aggravates these impairments. In some cases the inadequate social behavior of children with ADHD may be phenomenologically and etiologically related to pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). However, the causes and consequences of PDD symptoms in ADHD are understudied. Also, the relative contributions of ADHD, on the one hand, and comorbid disorders, on the other, to the course of social impairments are unknown. Social dysfunctioning in children with ADHD appears to increase their risk of later psychopathology other than ADHD. Thus far effective treatment for social dysfunctioning is lacking. Future research should address the exact nature and long-term consequences of social dysfunctioning in children with ADHD, and focus on development of effective treatment strategies.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
American Psychiatric Association (2013) · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 · Cited by 116,369 · see citing works
Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/bf02172145 · Cited by 9,065 · see citing works
(1999) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.12.1073 · Cited by 3,372 · see citing works
FARAONE, S. V., BIEDERMAN, J., & MICK, E. (2006) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s003329170500471x · Cited by 2,267 · see citing works
Autism screening questionnaire: diagnostic validity
Berument, S. K., Rutter, M., Lord, C., Pickles, A., & Bailey, A. (1999) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.175.5.444 · Cited by 1,464 · see citing works
INFANTILE AUTISM: A GENETIC STUDY OF 21 TWIN PAIRS
Folstein, S., & Rutter, M. (1977) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1977.tb00443.x · Cited by 1,361 · cited 1× · see citing works
“These findings are in line with the strong genetic component that has been established for autistic disorder (Bolton et al., 1994; Folstein & Rutter, 1977; Steffenburg et al., 1989).”
ResultAutistic Traits in the General Population: A Twin Study
Constantino, J. N., & Todd, R. D. (2003) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.5.524 · Cited by 1,317 · see citing works
Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Goldman, L. S. (1998) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.279.14.1100 · Cited by 1,082 · see citing works
ADHD Comorbidity Findings From the MTA Study: Comparing Comorbid Subgroups
JENSEN, P. S., HINSHAW, S. P., KRAEMER, H. C., LENORA, N., NEWCORN, J. H., ABIKOFF, H. B., MARCH, J. S., ARNOLD, L. E., CANTWELL, D. P., CONNERS, C. K., et al. (2001) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200102000-00009 · Cited by 974 · cited 1× · see citing works
“…30 to 60% in children with ADHD of 7 years and older (Biederman, 2005; Biederman, Newcorn, & Sprich, 1991; Goldmann, Genel, Bezman, & Slanetz, 1998; Jensen et al., 2001), and for CD at least 20% of school aged children, with rates that tend to increase in adolescence (Biederman & Faraone, 2005).”
BackgroundBIEDERMAN, J., MONUTEAUX, M. C., MICK, E., SPENCER, T., WILENS, T. E., SILVA, J. M., SNYDER, L. E., & FARAONE, S. V. (2006) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291705006410 · Cited by 850 · see citing works
How specific is a deficit of executive functioning for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?
Sergeant, J. A., Geurts, H., & Oosterlaan, J. (2002) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00430-2 · Cited by 784 · cited 1× · see citing works
“It has been suggested that an inhibition deficit could be specific to ADHD (Geurts et al., 2004b; Sergeant, Geurts, & Oosterlaan, 2002; Happé et al., 2006; Sergeant et al., 2002) and that children with ASD more often show impairments in planning and flexibility (Hill, 2004).”
BackgroundBrief Report: Specific Executive Function Profiles in Three Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Ozonoff, S., & Jensen, J. (1999) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/a:1023052913110 · Cited by 724 · see citing works
Geurts, H. M., Verté, S., Oosterlaan, J., Roeyers, H., & Sergeant, J. A. (2004) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00276.x · Cited by 705 · cited 4× · see citing works
“Children with ADHD have been found to show similar problems with certain aspects of pragmatic language, including the appropriate initiation of conversation and use of syntax, as do children with high functioning autism (Bishop & Baird, 2001; Geurts et al., 2004a).”
BackgroundInfluentialHoza, B., Mrug, S., Gerdes, A. C., Hinshaw, S. P., Bukowski, W. M., Gold, J. A., Kraemer, H. C., Pelham, W. E., Wigal, T., & Arnold, L. E. (2005) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.73.3.411 · Cited by 617 · see citing works
Asperger Syndrome—Some Epidemiological Considerations: A Research Note
Gillberg, I. C., & Gillberg, C. (1989) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1989.tb00275.x · Cited by 603 · see citing works
Barkley, R. A. (1997) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.121.1.65 · Cited by 580 · see citing works
The comorbidity of ADHD in the general population of Swedish school-age children
Kadesjö, B., & Gillberg, C. (2001) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00742 · Cited by 569 · see citing works
Social Functioning and Emotional Regulation in the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Subtypes
Wheeler Maedgen, J., & Carlson, C. L. (2000) · Journal of Clinical Child Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2901_4 · Cited by 462 · see citing works
Do boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have positive illusory self-concepts?
Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Dobbs, J., Owens, J. S., & Pillow, D. R. (2002) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.111.2.268 · Cited by 359 · see citing works
Psychiatric Symptoms in Preschool Children with PDD and Clinic and Comparison Samples
Gadow, K. D., DeVincent, C. J., Pomeroy, J., & Azizian, A. (2004) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/b:jadd.0000037415.21458.93 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
BUITELAAR, J. K., VAN DER WEES, M., SWAAB–BARNEVELD, H., & VAN DER GAAG, R. J. (1999) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579499001947 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Self-citationGreene, R. W., Biederman, J., Faraone, S. V., Sienna, M., & Garcia-Jetton, J. (1997) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.65.5.758 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Lee, D. O., & Ousley, O. Y. (2006) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1089/cap.2006.16.737 · Cited by 239 · see citing works
JOHN, K., GAMMON, D. G., PRUSOFF, B. A., & WARNER, V. (1987) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-198726060-00015 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., Dalen, L., & Remington, B. (2003) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000087564.34977.21 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Ogdie, M. N., Macphie, I. L., Minassian, S. L., Yang, M., Fisher, S. E., Francks, C., Cantor, R. M., McCracken, J. T., McGough, J. J., Nelson, S. F., et al. (2003) · The American Journal of Human Genetics · doi:10.1086/375139 · Cited by 220 · see citing works
ABIKOFF, H., HECHTMAN, L., KLEIN, R. G., GALLAGHER, R., FLEISS, K., ETCOVITCH, J., COUSINS, L., GREENFIELD, B., MARTIN, D., & POLLACK, S. (2004) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000128797.91601.1a · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Hartman, C. A., Luteijn, E., Serra, M., & Minderaa, R. (2006) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0072-z · Cited by 187 · cited 2× · see citing works
“The CSBQ appears to differentiate between autism and PDDNOS on the one hand, and PDDNOS and ADHD on the other (Hartman et al., 2006).”
BackgroundSelf-citationAntshel, K. M., & Remer, R. (2003) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3201_14 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Attention, play, and social behavior in ADHD preschoolers
Alessandri, S. M. (1992) · Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology · doi:10.1007/bf00916693 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Nydén, A., Gillberg, C., Hjelmquist, E., & Heiman, M. (1999) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361399003003002 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Yuill, N., & Lyon, J. (2007) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-007-0612-5 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Hattori, J., Ogino, T., Abiru, K., Nakano, K., Oka, M., & Ohtsuka, Y. (2006) · Brain and Development · doi:10.1016/j.braindev.2005.11.009 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Van der Oord, S., Van der Meulen, E. M., Prins, P. J. M., Oosterlaan, J., Buitelaar, J. K., & Emmelkamp, P. M. G. (2005) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2004.06.004 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Self-citationAutistic Spectrum Disorder: A Child Population Profile
Keen, D., & Ward, S. (2004) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361304040637 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Jensen, V. K., Larrieu, J. A., & Mack, K. K. (1997) · Clinical Pediatrics · doi:10.1177/000992289703601001 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
JONSDOTTIR, S., BOUMA, A., SERGEANT, J., & SCHERDER, E. (2006) · Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology · doi:10.1016/j.acn.2006.05.003 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Wehmeier, P. M., Schacht, A., & Barkley, R. A. (2010) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.09.009 · Cited by 628 · see citing works
Young, S., Adamo, N., Ásgeirsdóttir, B. B., Branney, P., Beckett, M., Colley, W., Cubbin, S., Deeley, Q., Farrag, E., Gudjonsson, G., et al. (2020) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02707-9 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
Patterns of Comorbidity, Functioning, and Service Use for US Children With ADHD, 2007
Larson, K., Russ, S. A., Kahn, R. S., & Halfon, N. (2011) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0165 · Cited by 580 · see citing works
Basch, C. E. (2011) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00632.x · Cited by 521 · see citing works
Leitner, Y. (2014) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00268 · Cited by 439 · see citing works
“In fact, many ADHD children are disliked within minutes of the initial social interaction (Pelham et al., 1985) and then denied further opportunities to practice social skills, which lead to further rejection (Milich et al., 1982).”
Rommelse, N. N. J., Geurts, H. M., Franke, B., Buitelaar, J. K., & Hartman, C. A. (2011) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.02.015 · Cited by 429 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial cognition in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Uekermann, J., Kraemer, M., Abdel-Hamid, M., Schimmelmann, B. G., Hebebrand, J., Daum, I., Wiltfang, J., & Kis, B. (2010) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.10.009 · Cited by 419 · see citing works
van der Meer, J. M. J., Oerlemans, A. M., van Steijn, D. J., Lappenschaar, M. G. A., de Sonneville, L. M. J., Buitelaar, J. K., & Rommelse, N. N. J. (2012) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2012.08.024 · Cited by 303 · see citing works
Self-citationRos, R., & Graziano, P. A. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2016.1266644 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
Examining autistic traits in children with ADHD: does the autism spectrum extend to ADHD?
Grzadzinski, R., Di Martino, A., Brady, E., Mairena, M. A., O’Neale, M., Petkova, E., Lord, C., & Castellanos, F. X. (2011) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1135-3 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Tarver, J., Daley, D., & Sayal, K. (2014) · Child: Care, Health and Development · doi:10.1111/cch.12139 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Mulligan, A., Anney, R. J. L., O’Regan, M., Chen, W., Butler, L., Fitzgerald, M., Buitelaar, J., Steinhausen, H.-C., Rothenberger, A., Minderaa, R., et al. (2009) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0621-3 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Self-citationEdey, R., Cook, J., Brewer, R., Johnson, M. H., Bird, G., & Press, C. (2016) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000199 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Craig, F., Lamanna, A. L., Margari, F., Matera, E., Simone, M., & Margari, L. (2015) · Autism Research · doi:10.1002/aur.1449 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Bul, K. C., Kato, P. M., Van der Oord, S., Danckaerts, M., Vreeke, L. J., Willems, A., van Oers, H. J., Van Den Heuvel, R., Birnie, D., Van Amelsvoort, T. A., et al. (2016) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.5173 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
“They are rejected more often by their peers and have more conflicts with other children and adults compared to their counterparts who do not have ADHD [9].”
BackgroundTreatment for Co-Occurring Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Davis, N. O., & Kollins, S. H. (2012) · Neurotherapeutics · doi:10.1007/s13311-012-0126-9 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Groen, Y., Wijers, A. A., Mulder, L. J. M., Waggeveld, B., Minderaa, R. B., & Althaus, M. (2008) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2008.08.004 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Self-citationMary, A., Slama, H., Mousty, P., Massat, I., Capiau, T., Drabs, V., & Peigneux, P. (2016) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2015.1012491 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Baribeau, D. A., Doyle-Thomas, K. A. R., Dupuis, A., Iaboni, A., Crosbie, J., McGinn, H., Arnold, P. D., Brian, J., Kushki, A., Nicolson, R., et al. (2015) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2015.03.016 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
PDD symptoms in ADHD, an independent familial trait?
Nijmeijer, J. S., Hoekstra, P. J., Minderaa, R. B., Buitelaar, J. K., Altink, M. E., Buschgens, C. J. M., Fliers, E. A., Rommelse, N. N. J., Sergeant, J. A., & Hartman, C. A. (2009) · Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10802-008-9282-0 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Self-citationJustice and rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents with ADHD symptoms
Bondü, R., & Esser, G. (2015) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-014-0560-9 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Nijmeijer, J. S., Hartman, C. A., Rommelse, N. N. J., Altink, M. E., Buschgens, C. J. M., Fliers, E. A., Franke, B., Minderaa, R. B., Ormel, J., Sergeant, J. A., et al. (2010) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02277.x · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Self-citationCordova, M., Shada, K., Demeter, D. V., Doyle, O., Miranda-Dominguez, O., Perrone, A., Schifsky, E., Graham, A., Fombonne, E., Langhorst, B., et al. (2020) · NeuroImage: Clinical · doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102245 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Impact of executive functions on school and peer functions in youths with ADHD
Chiang, H.-L., & Gau, S. S.-F. (2014) · Research in Developmental Disabilities · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.02.010 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Ward, A. R., Sibley, M. H., Musser, E. D., Campez, M., Bubnik-Harrison, M. G., Meinzer, M. C., & Yeguez, C. E. (2019) · ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders · doi:10.1007/s12402-019-00293-9 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Soares, L. S., Alves, A. L. C., Costa, D. D. S., Malloy-Diniz, L. F., Paula, J. J. D., Romano-Silva, M. A., & Miranda, D. M. D. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.593150 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Tamm, L., Epstein, J. N., & Becker, S. P. (2019) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2018.1523379 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Chan, E. S. M., & Langberg, J. M. (2026) · Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation · doi:10.1007/s10926-024-10259-y · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Graziano, P. A., Geffken, G. R., & Lall, A. S. (2011) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054710367772 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Dağdelen, F. (2020) · Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.5455/apd.135050 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Inci Izmir, S. B., Aktan, Z. D., & Ercan, E. S. (2024) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/10870547241267379 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Excess Neonatal Testosterone Causes Male-Specific Social and Fear Memory Deficits in Wild-Type Mice
Quiñones-Labernik, P., Blocklinger, K. L., Bruce, M. R., Hagan, E., Preuschl, D., Tesar, C., & Ferri, S. L. (2025) · eneuro · doi:10.1523/eneuro.0020-25.2025 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Social behavior is disrupted in ASD, ADHD, schizophrenia, PTSD, psychopathy, and others (Nijmeijer et al., 2008; Kennedy and Adolphs, 2012; Homberg et al., 2016; Frye, 2018; Porcelli et al., 2019; Scoglio et al., 2022).”
- Authors
- Nijmeijer, J. S., Minderaa, R. B., Buitelaar, J. K., Mulligan, A., Hartman, C. A., & Hoekstra, P. J.
- Affiliations
- University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Nijmeijer, Judith S.
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-04
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 692-708
- ISSN
- 0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2079274086
- Semantic Scholar
- b7ac61e46299e0849c0e4aee46855535164d9873
- Cited by
- 524
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 41 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 1.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social dysfunction, peer rejection, peer conflict, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, pervasive developmental disorders, comorbidities, social behavior, psychopathology risk, children
- MeSH terms
- Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Diagnosis, Differential, Humans, Peer Group, Rejection, Psychology, Social Behavior Disorders, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-06.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
