Industry leaders in improving attention. |
|
For more information call (800) 788 - 6786 or request
a |
Differences in Parents With and Without ADHD
A recent study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology presents interesting findings on how parents of children with and without ADHD understand their child's behavior.
In this study, the authors studied parents attributions for (i.e. why their child did it) and reactions to behaviors reflecting inattentiveness/overactivity, oppositionality and defiance, and pro social actions.
Compared to parents of children without ADHD, parents of a child with ADHD believed that inattentive and overactive behavior was less controllable by their child and reflected a stable characteristic. In other words, they were less likely to "blame" their child for behaving in these ways. Even so, however, they reported that they would feel more frustrated and upset with their child.
Similar results were found for oppositional and defiant behavior. This is interesting because such behavior does not necessarily reflect core ADHD symptoms and may, in fact, be more under the child's control. As before, parents of children with ADHD indicated that they would react by feeling more frustrated and upset.
When it came to pro social behavior, parents of an ADHD child believed their child was less likely to be the "cause" of such behavior and that it was less likely to reflect a stable characteristic of their child. Instead, they were more likely to attribute such behavior to circumstances.
The authors of this study offer some interesting speculations about the possible implications of these results. First, they note that although parents of children with ADHD do not hold their child responsible for the behaviors that directly reflect ADHD symptoms - which is in keeping with current beliefs about the biological basis of these symptoms - they still report feeling more frustrated and upset by such behavior than parents of children without ADHD. While not observed directly in this study, they wonder about the possible negative effect on the parent-child relationship of expressing anger over something the parents recognizes is hard for their child to control.
The authors also note that parents of a child with ADHD were less likely to believe their child had control over oppositional and defiant behaviors. Deliberate defiance is not a core symptom of ADHD (it is more likely to reflect ODD), and may be behavior that a child with ADHD can choose to control more readily. Perhaps the experience of seeing their child behave in ways that are difficult to control leads parents to assume that non ADHD behaviors are also outside of their child’s control. The authors suggest that this might make parents less likely to employ effective discipline strategies because they feel such behavior can not be controlled by their child. This could potentially lead to an increase in such behavior and is an issue that should be addressed in future studies.
Finally, the authors also wonder about the impact of believing that pro social behaviors are attributable situational factors rather than being deliberately initiated by the child. Could this result in such behavior being less likely to be praised and rewarded? If so, it would reduce the likelihood of such behavior increasing in frequency.
Please note that this study definitely does not imply that anything about how parents respond to their child’s behavior is the cause of ADHD symptoms. The attributions that parents make for childrens’ behavior can influence how they respond to their child, and may have important implications for the development of both problematic and pro social behaviors.
This study underscores the importance of examining the attributions that we all make about our children’s behavior. Blaming children for behavior that is legitimately difficult for them to control can create difficulties, while not holding them responsible for behaviors that they can more easily exercise control over, can also be problematic. Of course, making these distinctions can be a difficult thing to do but is a task that deserves careful and ongoing effort and attention.
Note: This article originally appeared in Attention Research Update, an online newsletter written by Dr. David Rabiner, a Duke University psychologist and former member of CHADD's Professional Advisory Board. You can learn more about Attention Research Update and sign up for a free subscription at www.helpforadd.com.