Pre-natal maternal stress and its potential correlation to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An exploration into the potential correlation between the prevalence of chronic stress among a sample of Eastern Cape (South African) women during pregnancy and the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in their children by the time they are of school-going age
- Authors: Mukheibir, Adrienne Jayne
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder , Learning, Psychology of Adaptability (Psychology) Developmental psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42353 , vital:36648
- Description: This study is an exploration into the potential correlation between the prevalence of chronic stress during pregnancy among a sample of Eastern Cape (South African) mothers and a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in their school-going children. The theoretical framework on which this study is based is Barker’s Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) model. This model proposes that in utero development is influenced by the intrauterine milieu provided by the mother, where even a slight deviation to this environment during critical periods of development can lead to alterations in structure, physiology and metabolism in the child via fetal programming, which, depending on the cause, timing, duration and intensity of the stress, can cause pervasive, long-lasting consequences to disease and health later in life. This particular study examines existing literature regarding the phenomenon of how prenatal maternal stress (PNMS), as the adverse in utero influence, exerts a long-lasting negative effect on fetal development in the form of ADHD in childhood, and compares these findings to the circumstances surrounding a sample of 60 mothers whose school-going children have been diagnosed with ADHD. A mixed methods approach was used in this study, incorporating firstly a quantitative strand of Eastern Cape mothers where the prevalence and range of chronic stress during gestation was explored. From this sample, a qualitative sample was selected to provide more in-depth information regarding their stressful pregnancies. The flipside of the DOHaD model is that because of fetal developmental plasticity, positive in utero influences can undo the harmful effects caused by over-exposure to stress hormones, thereby enhancing fetal development. Unfortunately, this study highlighted how few mothers were aware of the positive influence a relaxation intervention programme could have on reducing stress which could alter the trajectory of their child’s development. The significant role that a genetic predisposition towards ADHD plays is not being debated. However, this study has provided much needed insight about PNMS as a negative influence on gestational development that could lead to the onset of, or exacerbation of ADHD traits.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Improving reading ability and academic performance through working memory training
- Authors: Mukheibir, Adrienne Jayne
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Reading -- Ability testing , Short-term memory , Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4840 , vital:20716
- Description: This dissertation is based on the results of a study that used a working memory (WM) adaptive computer programme known as Jungle Memory to determine whether training WM would have a positive impact on learners with reading difficulties, which would ultimately lead to an improvement in their overall academic performance. A pragmatic paradigm has been used, involving a mixed methodology that allowed for a postpositivistic as well as a constructive approach. The first section of the investigation involved the quantitative component, where specific variables (performance levels of the sample of learners) were determined. Thereafter, empirical measures were used to determine if these specific variables increased once the WM intervention programme had been completed. Concurrently, in the qualitative component, the sample group (namely the teachers working with these learners) provided qualitative information to verify if any changes in the participants were observed after the intervention. The participants included 30 boys who attend an ex Model C School in the Eastern Cape where I teach, all of whom had been identified as experiencing various reading difficulties and were receiving remedial assistance. The boys were placed into three groups according to specific criteria: Group A had all been diagnosed as having ADHD and were being treated pharmaceutically for the disorder; Group B all had significant ADHD symptoms but were not receiving any pharmaceutical assistance to alleviate these symptoms; and Group C displayed no significant ADHD symptoms. Five boys from each subgroup formed the Experimental group and the other five formed the Control group in each stratum. The participants' class-based teachers involved in the qualitative component of the study provided information-rich data regarding any notable progress made by each participant. Each participant took part in a battery of pre-assessment tests to determine their general level of academic performance. These assessments included the following well-known standardised tests in South Africa: the Young Group Reading Test, the Essi Reading Test, the Essi Spelling Test and the Vassi Mathematics Proficiency Test. The participants from all three Experimental Groups then took part in the eight week intervention programme, Jungle Memory, while the Control groups continued with their regular remedial programme. At the end of the eight weeks, all the participants were re-assessed using the same standardised tests.The findings from this study revealed that the participants from all three strata of the Experimental group showed significant improvements in the quantitative postassessment results and twelve of the fifteen also showed significant improvements in the comments made by the teachers in the qualitative component. The majority of the participants from the Control groups however, made very little progress in both components, and these small improvements were probably due to other variables such as maturity, incidental WM improvements through observing their peers, or familiarity with the tests.
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- Date Issued: 2015