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PARENTING
 | Parents of ADHD children have increased stress compared to parents of
non-ADHD children. (Fisher, M., 1990) |
| Although most research has been done on mothers and children, Baker, 1994
found little difference between stress experienced by mothers and fathers of
ADHD children. Child behavior, SES, and years married contributed to stress
more than parent gender. |
| Anastopoulos, et al. (1992) examined the causes of stress in families with
ADHD children and found that three child characteristics (aggressiveness,
severity of ADHD, and health) accounted for 43% of the variance in parenting
stress, whereas two maternal characteristics (psychopathology and health
status) accounted for 13% of the variance. |
| ADHD is also associated with increased parental marital discord. (Befera
and Barkley, 1985; Gillberg et al., 1983). |
| Mothers of ADHD children are more likely to seek help for themselves. As
the child grows older the maternal help-seeking increases, and by the time the
ADHD child is 7 years of age, mothers are 3 to 4 times more likely than
normals to seek psychological help for themselves. |
| Sandberg, Wieselberg, & Shaffer (1980) found that maternal reports of
mental distress accounted for 73% of the total variance in parental ratings of
hyperactivity. |
| Increased stress is associated with child characteristics such as
distractibility and "degree of bother" and parent characteristics including
depression, self-blame, social isolation, and incompetence in parenting
skills. |
| Sibling interactions also contribute to feelings of stress in mothers of
hyperactive children (Mash and Johnston (1983). |
| Sibling interactions of hyperactives were characterized by about 4 times
the amount of negative behavior as normals when the children were playing
without adult supervision and about twice as much negative behavior as normals
when being supervised by their mothers. (A significant amount of the conflict
appeared to represent the hyperactive child’s persistent attempts to interact
with his sibling who in turn was trying to avoid him. |
| There is no significant difference in amount of parenting stress because
of the child’s gender. (i.e. ADHD girls are as stressful to parents as ADHD
boys). (Breen and Barkley, 1988). |
| Mothers of hyperactive children report more symptoms of depression. |
| "Forehand and McMahon (1981) suggested that the problem of depression in
parents may be especially important because it may adversely affect their
responsiveness to behavioral parent training programs. |
| Depression in parents is thought to heighten their perceptions of child
maladjustment and to increase the number of commands and the amount of
controlling behavior that they exhibit. Presumably, then, depression could act
to maintain negative child behaviors, to impair response to treatment offered,
and to maintain stress. |
| Barkley, Fischer, Edelbrock, & Smallish, 1990 did a longitudinal study on
the families of hyperactive children. More than 3 times as many mothers of
hyperactives had separated or been divorced from the biological fathers.
Families of hyperactive children were twice as likely to have received family
therapy. |
| Research on social interactions indicates that ADHD children are generally
less compliant with parent requests, more off-task and negative, and typically
more demanding of help and attention than are normal or LD children. (Barkley
& Cunningham, 1980; Campbell, 1975) |
| Interaction conflicts appear to be greatest in younger children (4 to 5
year olds). (Mash and Johntson, 1982) |
| Results of a series of studies on parent-child interactions indicates that
when parents give their children tasks to accomplish, the ADHDs are less
compliant with the parents’ immediate commands, less able to sustain
compliance, and more oppositional. Their parents provide more commands and
directives to their children, are more negative and reprimanding, and are less
responsive to their children’s general social initiatives than parents of
normal children. (Barkley, 1985, 1988; Befera & Barkley, 1985); Tallmadge &
Barkley, 1983; Tarver-Behring, Barkley, & Karlsson, 1985).. |
| Children on stimulant medication show increased compliance and decreased
off task behaviors. As a result, the mothers decrease their rates of commands
and control over compliance, increase their levels of passive observation and
nondirective interactions, increase their expression or maternal warmth, and
decrease their expression of criticism. (Barkley, 1988, 1989; Barkley &
Cunningham, 1979; Barkley, Karlsson, Pollard, & Murphy, 1985; Barkley et al.,
1984; Cunningham & Barkley, 1978; Humphries et al., 1978; Schachar, Taylor,
Wieselberg, Thorley, & Rutter, 1987). |
| Teachers and normal peers also tend to relate in a dominating and
controlling manner with ADHD children. However, similar to the finding with
parent-child interactions, the controlling behavior of teachers and peers is
also reduced with medication. (Whalen, Henker, & Dotemoto, 1980, 1981;
Cunningham, Siegel, & Offord, 1985). |
References
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