TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality of life changes during the covid-19 pandemic for caregivers of children with adhd and/or asd
AU - Pecor, Keith W.
AU - Barbayannis, Georgia
AU - Yang, Max
AU - Johnson, Jacklyn
AU - Materasso, Sarah
AU - Borda, Mauricio
AU - Garcia, Disleidy
AU - Garla, Varsha
AU - Ming, Xue
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/4/1
Y1 - 2021/4/1
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to caregivers of children. Families with children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are an understudied but potentially vulnerable population to changes during the outbreak. As such, the aim of this study was to contrast quality of life for caregivers of children with ADHD and/or ASD, before and during the pandemic, compared to caregivers of neurotypical (NT) children. Total, Parent Health-Related Quality of Life, and Family Functioning Summary Scores from the Family Impact Module of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ were contrasted among caregivers of children with ADHD, ASD, comorbid ADHD and ASD, and NT development. For all scores, caregivers of ADHD and/or ASD children reported lower quality of life, both before and during the pandemic, in comparison to caregivers of NT children. For all diagnoses, quality of life decreased during the pandemic, but caregivers of children with ADHD and/or ASD reported a greater decrease in quality of life than caregivers for NT children. There are limitations to this study in terms of the composition of the sample and the survey methodology, but we are able to conclude that caregivers of children with ADHD and/or ASD have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and it is imperative that these families receive additional resources and support to improve their quality of life.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to caregivers of children. Families with children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are an understudied but potentially vulnerable population to changes during the outbreak. As such, the aim of this study was to contrast quality of life for caregivers of children with ADHD and/or ASD, before and during the pandemic, compared to caregivers of neurotypical (NT) children. Total, Parent Health-Related Quality of Life, and Family Functioning Summary Scores from the Family Impact Module of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ were contrasted among caregivers of children with ADHD, ASD, comorbid ADHD and ASD, and NT development. For all scores, caregivers of ADHD and/or ASD children reported lower quality of life, both before and during the pandemic, in comparison to caregivers of NT children. For all diagnoses, quality of life decreased during the pandemic, but caregivers of children with ADHD and/or ASD reported a greater decrease in quality of life than caregivers for NT children. There are limitations to this study in terms of the composition of the sample and the survey methodology, but we are able to conclude that caregivers of children with ADHD and/or ASD have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and it is imperative that these families receive additional resources and support to improve their quality of life.
KW - ADHD
KW - ASD
KW - Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - COVID-19
KW - Care-giver
KW - Family burden
KW - Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™
KW - QOL
KW - Quality of life
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18073667
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18073667
M3 - Article
C2 - 33915884
AN - SCOPUS:85103317945
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International journal of environmental research and public health
JF - International journal of environmental research and public health
IS - 7
M1 - 3667
ER -