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The Impact of Parental ADHD Symptoms on Parenting Practices and Stress After Behavioral Intervention: Comparisons across Co-occurring Presentations

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine whether parent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms impact parenting outcomes (i.e., parenting practices and stress) after group-based Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). The study included parents of preschoolers (Mage = 4.97) with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring externalizing behavior problems (ASD + EBP; 37) and parents of children with EBP-only (n = 41) who participated in a multimodal behavioral intervention, including an 8-week group-based PCIT. Parents reported on their own ADHD symptoms, practices, and stress at pre-and-post-treatment. Accounting for child EBP, parental ADHD symptoms were predictive of higher negative and lower positive parenting at post-treatment, for parents in the ASD + EBP group but not the EBP-only group. Parental ADHD symptoms also predicted higher parenting stress for the ASD + EBP group only. Results of mediational analyses indicated that for the ASD + EBP group, the indirect effect of parental ADHD symptoms on negative and positive parenting through parenting stress was significant. Findings highlight the differential impact of parental mental health challenges on parenting outcomes. Specifically, parental ADHD symptoms seem to have a larger impact on treatment outcomes for parents of children with co-occurring presentations, which seems to be partially mediated by parenting stress.

Highlights

  • The current study examined the role of parental ADHD symptoms on parenting outcomes after participation in a behavioral parent training program for young children with externalizing behavior problems with and without autism spectrum disorder.

  • Parental ADHD symptoms were associated with parenting practices and stress for parents of preschoolers with ASD and elevated EBP.

  • The impact of parental ADHD symptoms on parenting practices was partially mediated by parenting stress after completing group PCIT.

  • Parental ADHD symptoms played a lesser role on parenting outcomes for parents of children with EBP-only after group PCIT.

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Acknowledgements

The research reported here was supported by a local grant from The Children’s Trust (1329-7290) to the third author. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of The Children’s Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical University of South Carolina, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Charleston, USA

    Rosmary Ros-DeMarize & Alexis Garcia

  2. Florida International University, Department of Psychology, Miami, USA

    Paulo A. Graziano

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  1. Rosmary Ros-DeMarize
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Correspondence to Paulo A. Graziano.

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Ros-DeMarize, R., Garcia, A. & Graziano, P.A. The Impact of Parental ADHD Symptoms on Parenting Practices and Stress After Behavioral Intervention: Comparisons across Co-occurring Presentations. J Child Fam Stud 31, 1869–1879 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02217-6

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