Perinatal and Familial Risk Factors Are Associated with Full Syndrome and Subthreshold Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Korean Community Sample

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the effect of perinatal and familial risk factors on full syndrome and subthreshold attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among Korean children and adolescents. METHODS A sample of 2,673 students was randomly selected from 19 representative schools in Seoul, Korea. The parents of the students completed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-version IV (DISC-IV), as well as questionnaires on perinatal and familial risk factors. RESULTS Maternal stress and alcohol use during pregnancy, parental marital discord, parental separation or divorce, changes in primary caregivers, and notbreastfeeding were significantly associated with full syndrome ADHD; however, maternal stress during pregnancy was the only variable that differentiated subthreshold ADHD from non-ADHD. CONCLUSION Our results provide evidence the perinatal and familial risk factors contribute to the development of ADHD in Korea children and adolescents, and suggest that these perinatal and familial risk factors are more closely related to full syndrome than to subthreshold ADHD.