Childhood ADHD and treatment outcome: the role of maternal functioning

Abstract

BackgroundRelatively little is known about the role of maternal functioning in terms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, attachment style and resilience as predictive factors for treatment outcome when offspring are diagnosed with ADHD.ObjectiveTo investigate whether maternal functioning is associated with treatment outcome in children with ADHD.MethodsThe study formed part of a larger naturalistic observational study of children with ADHD. A battery of self-report measures was used to assess selected factors in maternal functioning at the point of referral (baseline data); adult ADHD-symptoms, adult attachment style and adult resilience. Associations between these domains and child treatment response were subsequently examined in a 1-year follow up.ResultsMaternal ADHD-symptoms and degree of resilience were significantly correlated to symptom reduction in offspring diagnosed with ADHD. However, the association between maternal attachment style and child treatment response as measured by the ADHD-RS did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to consider potential protective factors along with risk factors in maternal functioning and the impact on child treatment outcome. The study contributes to our knowledge of the potential role of maternal functioning in treatment outcome for children with ADHD.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13034-018-0234-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Is Parents’ ADHD Symptomatology Associated With the Clinical Feasibility or Effectiveness of a Psychoeducational Program Targeting Their Children’s ADHD?

“…Instead, parents with high ADHD symptom severity were found to be as likely to complete the program, submit positive program acceptability ratings, and display knowledge gains as parents with low ADHD symptom severity. The main findings of this study thus differ from previous research linking parental ADHD symptoms and executive dysfunction to parenting- and treatment-related difficulties (Johnston et al, 2012; Park et al, 2017; Rasmussen et al, 2018), including less beneficial outcomes after other types of parenting interventions (Chronis-Tuscano et al, 2017).…”

“…The authors accordingly suggested that parental ADHD symptoms have “the greatest effect on behaviors that parents must self-initiate,” including for example skill-use (Friedman et al, 2020). Thus, future studies should investigate the potential influence of parental ADHD symptoms on what would ideally follow after psychoeducation, that is, parent-initiated translation of the newly acquired knowledge into environmental modifications, use of new parenting strategies and attempts to find, coordinate, and adhere to recommended interventions and services (Chronis-Tuscano et al, 2017; Johnston et al, 2012; Rasmussen et al, 2018).…”

“…Multiplex families where not only the child but also the parent(s) have ADHD symptoms, a description that applies to 20% to 40% of families of children with ADHD (Starck et al, 2016; Takeda et al, 2010), might need additional support by services or adaptations to facilitate active and beneficial participation in recommended interventions (Johnston et al, 2012). A growing number of studies indicates that parental ADHD symptoms may complicate the administration of and adherence to interventions for children’s ADHD, ultimately increasing the risk of suboptimal treatment outcomes—whether they be medication, parenting interventions (Chronis-Tuscano et al, 2017), or a combination (Rasmussen et al, 2018). Considering the familial aggregation of ADHD (Epstein et al, 2000; Uchida et al, 2021), it is important to find out if this also applies to psychoeducation, that is, whether the clinical feasibility and effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions targeting children’s ADHD differ between parents with varying ADHD symptom severities.…”

A randomised controlled trial (MindChamp) of a mindfulness‐based intervention for children with ADHD and their parents

“…Response to child ADHD treatment is also influenced by parental symptoms of ADHD or depression which are more frequent among parents with a child with ADHD (Deault, 2010 ; Rasmussen et al., 2018 ). Parental psychopathology is associated with more negative (e.g.…”

Mothers of Children Diagnosed with ADHD: A Descriptive Study of Maternal Experience during the First Three Years of Treatment

“…Many Cochrane reviews indicate that current treatment strategies do not provide convincing improvement on the overall functioning, which suggests that we do not fully comprehend the mechanisms of the ADHD disorder [7][8][9]. Importantly, some children diagnosed with ADHD continue to be significantly affected by their disorder as they reach adolescence and adulthood [8].…”