Dataset Information

Are parental ADHD problems associated with a more severe clinical presentation and greater family adversity in children with ADHD?

ABSTRACT: Although Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is recognised to be a familial and heritable disorder, little is known about the broader family characteristics of having a parent with ADHD problems. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parent ADHD problems, child clinical presentation and family functioning in a sample of children with ADHD. The sample consisted of 570 children with ADHD. Child psychopathology was assessed using a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Questionnaires were used to assess ADHD in the parents (childhood and current symptoms), family environment and mother/father-child relationship. Parental ADHD problems were associated with a range of adverse clinical outcomes in children with no difference in effects for mothers with ADHD problems compared to fathers with ADHD problems. Levels of maternal hostility were higher in families where mothers had ADHD problems, but reduced where fathers had ADHD problems. Parental ADHD problems index higher risk for more severe clinical presentation of ADHD in children and higher levels of family conflict (where there are maternal but not paternal ADHD problems). This study highlights that children with more severe behavioural symptoms are more likely to have a parent with persistent ADHD which has important implications when considering treatment and intervention strategies.

SUBMITTER: Agha SS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3669511 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background: Primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) may have a stressful impact on the everyday life of children and parents, and it may represent a cumulative stress factor increasing feelings of "learned helplessness." Methods: The current study investigated parental stress in a group of parents (n = 330) of children affected by PMNE, compared to a group of parents (n = 330) of typical developing children (TDC). In addition, the study evaluated whether parents of PMNE children experience more emotional, social, and behavioral problems in their children, compared to parents of TDC. Finally, the study correlated frequency of enuresis with stress values and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) subscales and total stress with CBCL. Both groups were given The Parental Stress Inventory-Short Form (PSI-SF) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results: Parents of PMNE children showed significantly higher stress level than parents of TDC. Nocturnal enuresis, as a demanding clinical condition difficult to control, represents a relevant stress factor. Mothers appeared as more vulnerable to stress than fathers. Parents of PMNE children reported higher behavioral and emotional problems, compared to reports of parents of TDC. PMNE children appeared to their parents as having lower competency in social activities, school performance, and social relationships than TDC. Moreover, they were rated as more withdrawn, anxious-depressed, more aggressive, inattentive, and with more somatic complaints than healthy children. It was always the mother who rated a significantly higher number of emotional, social, and behavioral problems compared to fathers. Correlational analysis showed that the higher the frequency of enuresis, the greater the parental stress level, the lower the social activities, school performance and relational competencies and the higher the emotional, social and behavioral problems in children, according to the parents' evaluations. The greater the parental stress level, the lower the competencies rated and the higher the behavioral problems detected by parents. Conclusion: The physicians who deal with PMNE children have taken into account the stressful role and emotional dimensions of this clinical condition, both for children and mothers, in order to improve clinical management. Psychological support is needed for parents, and mothers especially, for a more functional stress management related to the PMNE.

Project description:The development of child mental health problems has been associated with experiences of adversity and dysregulation of stress response systems; however, past research has largely focused on externalizing or internalizing problems (rather than their co-occurrence) and single physiological systems in high-risk adolescent samples. The present study examined whether cumulative family adversity, functioning in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (i.e., cortisol) and the parasympathetic nervous system (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]), and their interactions, predicted trajectories of co-occurring externalizing and internalizing problems among young children. Participants included 338 socioeconomically and racially diverse children (M age = 5.32 years, SD = .32; male = 51.8%) from a community sample. Family adversity (assessed with six measures) and child daily cortisol output and resting RSA were assessed in kindergarten. Parents, teachers, and children reported on children's externalizing and internalizing psychopathology up to three times from kindergarten to grade 1. Latent class growth analyses identified stable trajectories of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. Trajectories were combined to create groups: co-occurring externalizing and internalizing (13.1%), externalizing-only (14.0%), internalizing-only (11.3%), and low problems (61.3%). Family adversity and resting RSA significantly positively predicted co-occurring group membership. Tests for interactions showed adversity did not significantly interact with physiological indicators to predict group membership. However, the two physiological systems interacted, such that higher and lower daily cortisol predicted internalizing group membership for children with lower and higher resting RSA, respectively. Findings support the importance of considering family context and multiple physiological systems to inform understanding of the development of mental health problems, and their co-occurrence, in early childhood.

Dataset Information

Are parental ADHD problems associated with a more severe clinical presentation and greater family adversity in children with ADHD?

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets