Erickson's Psychosocial Stages
Piaget's Cognitive Stages

Middle Childhood (ages 6-12)

Erickson described the psychological crisis of middle childhood as "Industry versus Inferiority". Industry refers to a child's internal sense of competence. Do they believe they are capable to accomplish age-appropriate tasks, such as making friends, playing team games, succeeding in school?

By the age of 7, children with ADHD are nominated by there peers to a "rejected peer status", they have fewer one-on-one, mutual friendships with classmates, and are more sensitive than their peers to this type of rejection (Geuvremont & Dumas, 1994; London, Downey, Bonica, Paltin, 2007). Studies find that children with ADHD tend to overestimate their skills and abilities; however, their perceptions of how others see them tend to be skewed (Geuvremont & Dumas, 1994; London et al., 2007). In other words, children with ADHD seem to think they are more socially skilled than is actually true and this may result in social struggles with their peers. Interestingly, it appears that children are not missing the appropriate social skills, but are not applying them with proper timing or in the right situations (Geuvremont & Dumas, 1994). We propose that this is related to an inability to self-regulate one's behaviors, emotional state, and verbal responses, central components of ADHD according to Barkley (1997).  To complicate matters, children with ADHD have misperceptions on how others see them and why their peers don't seem to like them (Shillingford, Lambie, Walter, 2007; London et al., 2007). Some research suggests that these misperceptions carry over into early adolescence causing further social difficulties (Geuvremont & Dumas, 1994; London et al., 2007)

Early Adolescence (ages 12 to 18)

Erikson's stages (as adapted in Newman & Newman, 2006) describes the crisis of Early Adolescence as "Group Identity versus Alienation". During the middle school and high school years adolescents are attempting to find their place in the social stratus of their peers. This means becoming part of a group, identifying with that group as whole, forming intimate friendships within the group, and participating in mutual activities.

Adolescents with ADHD are at risk for a variety of comorbid disorders, including Conduct Disorder (CD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Anxiety Disorders, and Depression Disorders (APA, 2000; Geuvremont & Dumas, 1994; Hoza, Mrug, Gerdes, Hinshaw, Bukowski, 2005; London et al., 2007). Based on the available  literature, we suggest that a possible link exists between dysfunctional thinking developed during middle childhood and anxiety and depression disorders that develop later. Both types of disorders would tend to complicate the successful navigation of this stage.