Parent Management of Organization, Time Management, and Planning Deficits among Adolescents with ADHD

Abstract

Organization, Time Management, and Planning (OTP) problems are a key mechanism of academic failure for adolescents with ADHD. Parents may be well positioned to promote remediation of these deficits; yet, almost nothing is known about OTP management behaviors among parents of middle and high school students with ADHD. In a sample of 299 well-diagnosed adolescents with ADHD, a measure of parental OTP management was psychometrically validated. Latent Class Analysis was conducted to detect distinct patterns of parental OTP management and yielded four unique classes: Parental Control (18.7 %), Parent-Teen Collaboration (20.4 %), Homework Assistance (20.4 %), and Uninvolved (40.5 %). Logistic Regression analyses indicated that maladaptive parental OTP strategies were related to higher levels of parent and adolescent psychopathology. Parental OTP management did not relate to current adolescent OTP skills or GPA, indicating that parents did not select OTP management strategies in immediate response to adolescent functioning. Implications for parent-directed intervention are discussed.

Supporting Autonomy Development in Teens with ADHD: How Professionals Can Help

“…Despite being faced with difficult parenting dilemmas on a daily basis, approximately 20% of parents in our local sample appeared to offer an appropriate level of structure and autonomy support to their teens (Sibley, Campez et al, 2016). They set clear expectations for independent and responsible behavior and provided consistent structure at home that specified consequences for misuse of freedom and increased privileges for sustained responsible behavior.…”

“…This deficit often impedes the ability to persist at boring or difficult tasks (e.g., studying) in anticipation of a long-term reward (e.g., a good grade on a test). With clear difficulties self-initiating and sustaining effort, adolescents with ADHD may miss opportunities to develop independent skills further-by their own task avoidance or a tendency for adults to offer a high level of continued assistance to prevent failure (Sibley, Campez et al, 2016). At the same time, adolescents with ADHD also possess weaker executive functions in the PFC, which further interferes with their ability to hold in mind reasons to persist at aversive tasks and inhibit responses to distracting stimuli in support of longterm goals (Willcutt, Doyle, Nigg, Faraone, & Pennington, 2005).…”

“…Since most adolescents with ADHD display a history of problems with self-regulation, self-initiation, decision-making, time management, and organization (Wolraich et al, 2005), it is common for parents to feel that new freedoms will lead to imminent negative consequences. A natural reaction to this feeling is the assertion of developmentally inappropriate levels of control or assistance (Sibley, Campez et al, 2016). Adolescents with ADHD are also prone to higher levels of emotional reactivity and conflict with parents Martel, 2009).…”

“…By adolescence, several patterns appear to commonly emerge in these parents (Sibley, Campez et al, 2016). One group may feel helpless and hopeless after years of attempting to improve their son or daughter's functioning.…”

“…This is necessary as ADHD is a heterogeneous disorder, and adolescents with the disorder present with a range of deficits (Barkley, 2006). Further, parents may present with a range of parenting challenges (Sibley, Campez et al, 2016). As such, treatment was designed to be multifaceted, with substantial parent and teen input into the content and direction of therapy.…”