Relationship between parenting stress and informant discrepancies on symptoms of ADHD/ODD and internalizing behaviors in preschool children

Abstract

Parent and teacher ratings of child behaviors are often discrepant, and these discrepancies may be correlated with parenting stress. The present study explored whether various parenting stress factors are associated with discrepancies between parent and teacher ratings of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as well as internalizing symptoms in preschool children. We recruited 299 Taiwanese preschool children (aged 4–6 years) from the community or via clinical referrals. A structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among three factors derived from the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form and informant discrepancies on symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, ODD, and internalizing behaviors. Scores reported by parents were higher for each of the symptoms examined than those reported by teachers, and the degree of agreement between informants ranged from low to moderate. The parental distress factor of parenting stress was associated only with parent ratings, whereas other factors of parenting stress—parent-child dysfunctional interaction and parents’ stress resulted from their child’s temperament—were correlated with both parent and teacher ratings. Only parental distress factor predicted informant discrepancies for all behavioral symptoms assessed. Our findings suggest that parental distress should be considered when parent rating scores show significant discrepancies from that of teacher rating scores.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Food Insecurity in Childhood and Their Associations With Mental Health and Functioning in Adolescence

“…To our knowledge, other studies of food insecurity and ADHD in youths have been cross-sectional, 8 and most have relied on maternal reports of ADHD. Maternal ratings of ADHD may be influenced by parental distress, 39 , 40 , 41 which may be associated with food insecurity, 42 , 43 thus possibly inflating observed associations between food insecurity and ADHD. In the current investigation, the use of adolescent ratings probably mitigated the association of parental distress with outcome measurements.…”

Cognitive development of children with Kawasaki disease and the parenting stress of their caregivers in Taiwan: a case–control study

“…42 Studies have reported that the Chinese version of the PSI-SF is a reliable assessment tool for identifying parenting stress with a need for intervention in clinical practices. [43][44][45]…”

Cognitive development of children with Kawasaki Disease and the parenting stress of their caregivers

“…The three sub-scores are added together to yield a total parenting stress score [41]. Studies have reported that the Chinese version of the PSI-SF is a reliable assessment tool for identifying parenting stress with a need for intervention in clinical practices [42][43][44].…”