Children with neurodevelopmental disorders concentrate higher levels of emotional suffering

How does having one or more neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) affect children emotionally? According to the study Emotional well-being in children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families, promoted by the Social Observatory of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, these children have a higher probability of experiencing emotional suffering, which manifests through symptoms of depression and anxiety or aggression. In particular, in cases where more than two neurodevelopmental disorders are present, problems in social relationships and attention difficulties are aggravated, an effect that is especially noteworthy in girls.

“After the pandemic, various pieces of evidence indicated to us that the prevalence and incidence of mental illnesses had increased, and that is why we wondered how this distress could be impacting children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families,” states Mari Aguilera, one of the researchers of the study. And that was the main reason that prompted the research, in addition to addressing a very little-studied and innovative aspect: the well-being of the families, as well as that of the children.

The study, prepared by two principal investigators, Dr Nadia Ahufinger, from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), and Dr Mari Aguilera, from the University of Barcelona (UB), with the collaboration of the Catalan Association of Dyslexia (ACD) and the Association of Families with Learning Difficulties in Catalonia (AFDACAT), has involved nearly three hundred families with children aged between 6 and 12, with or without a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as developmental language disorder (DLD), dyslexia, dyscalculia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Comorbidity and gender

One of the key contributions of the study is the joint analysis of four areas of development —reading, calculation, oral language, and attention-behaviour— which has allowed for the detection of high comorbidity: almost half of the children with neurodevelopmental disorders present two or more of them.

“This indicates to us that children with learning difficulties and neurodevelopmental disorders have a complex reality, with more than one difficulty, and that the system must take this into account,” underlines the researcher Nadia Ahufinger, from the GRECIL Cognition and Language research group, of the eHealth Centre. Therefore, it is a set of interacting factors that can amplify the distress.

The study also warns of a more severe emotional impact on girls, especially in cases of comorbidity. They present more symptoms of anxiety, depression, and somatisation, as well as more rule-breaking behaviours. “Many girls tend to camouflage their difficulties to adapt to very demanding social expectations,” explains Ahufinger. “This sustained effort can end up aggravating their emotional suffering.”

Emotional distress also falls on families

The study also incorporates an innovative perspective focused on the emotional well-being of families, a dimension that has been little studied until now. The conclusions indicate that families who have children with two or more neurodevelopmental disorders are those who present higher levels of depression and difficulties in their emotional regulation.

“The families have not only been informants about their sons and daughters; they have also been protagonists of the study,” highlights Dr Nadia Ahufinger. “Many explained to us that no one had ever asked them how they felt emotionally.”

The profile of the participants also reveals a strong gender bias: 88% were mothers, which highlights the emotional and caregiving burden that continues to be mostly assumed by women.

Furthermore, in the interviews carried out, the families expressed difficulties in managing their own emotions and a notable emotional overload, as the researchers highlight. Ivana, one of the mothers who participated in the study, is an example in this regard. She is the mother of a teenager with dyslexia who was not diagnosed until the second year of primary school. Years later, she was also diagnosed with language disorder and dyscalculia. These disorders have different impacts on her daily life: “Academically she has many difficulties, especially with languages, spelling, and history, and in the social aspect it also affects her and she often prefers to make herself invisible for fear of being judged,” says Ivana.

In her case, once they had the diagnosis, they were able to face it with re-education, but she knows that “not all families can afford it and this is also a comparative disadvantage.”

Before the diagnosis, the suffering was constant: “They are children with very damaged self-esteem, who question why they cannot be like the rest. Until she knew that what was happening to her had a name, my daughter suffered terribly.”

Furthermore, families feel abandoned: “As a father or a mother, if you don’t know anything about these disorders, you don’t know how to accompany them either. Families need tools and emotional support to be able to accompany them as they need.”

Along these lines, the researchers agree on the need to rethink interventions because the data clearly indicates that these children are suffering, “but we also have to incorporate families into the treatments because, without that support, the emotional burden is unsustainable.”

Read the full study here.

This research falls under the UOC's Planetary Health and well-being research mission and supports UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, Good Health and Well-being.

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