The feeling of the shame in children and adolescents with ADHD

Abstract

The present study aimed to understand the judgment of the sense of shame in situations of violation of the rules in children and adolescents diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The players of violation of the rules were parents, teachers and peers. The study included 20 children and adolescents of both sexes, aged between 11 and 14 years old who were enrolled between the 5th and 8th grade of a private middle school and in an institution for the diagnosis and treatment of children with school complaints. Participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 (G1) comprised of 10 children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, predominantly combined and Group 2 (G2) with 10 children and adolescents without behavioral complaints. The moral development and the understanding of the sense of shame were investigated by means of hypothetical stories. Regarding the level of moral development, the results indicated that the participants in the two groups are moral autonomy or in transition between heteronomy and autonomy, with no difference between them, which makes it impossible to compare these data and the review focused on the feeling of shame. The results showed differences between the groups in relation to understanding the sense of shame in situations of violation of the rules and also in relation to those involved in the stories (parents, teachers and peers).