Parenting stress among families of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Published in: Journal of abnormal child psychology Vol. 20; no. 5; pp. 503 - 520
• Main Authors: ANASTOPOULOS, A. D, GUEVREMONT, D. C, SHELTON, T. L, DUPAUL, G. J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer 01.10.1992; Plenum Press; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aggression; Attention deficit disorder; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - complications; Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis; Child Rearing; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Family; Female; Humans; Hyperactive children; Hyperactivity; Male; Maternal Behavior; Medical sciences; Parent-Child Relations; Parental stress; Parenting; Parents; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Social research; Sociocultural environment; Stress; Stress, Psychological; Human; Parental behavior; Family story; School age; Attentional disorder; Hyperactivity; Environment personality relation; Hyperactive child syndrome; Child; Stress
• ISSN: 0091-0627; 2730-7166; 1573-2835; 2730-7174
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00916812

Prior research has shown that parenting stress levels can be quite high among families of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study investigated the degree to which such stress was related not only to the child's ADHD, but also to various other child, parent, and family-environment circumstances. Multimethod assessments were conducted on 104 clinic-referred children with ADHD. Data collected from these subjects were entered into hierarchical multiple-regression analyses, utilizing the Parenting Stress Index as the criterion. The results showed that the child and parent characteristics accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in overall parenting stress. The child's oppositional-defiant behavior and maternal psychopathology were especially potent predictors. The severity of the child's ADHD, the child's health status, and maternal health status also emerged as significant predictors. These findings are discussed in terms of their impact upon the clinical management of children with ADHD.