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Parenting Stress during Late Adolescence in Mothers of Individuals with ADHD with and without ODD

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Abstract

Although children with ADHD continue to experience impairment well into adolescence, research exploring the experiences of their parents during late adolescence is lacking. Thus, we examined changes in parenting stress and family conflict in mothers of adolescents with ADHD during the transition to early adulthood. We also explored predictors of these changes in addition to investigating differences in these trajectories due to comorbid ODD. Forty-nine mothers of adolescents with ADHD only and thirty-seven mothers of adolescents with ADHD/ODD reported on parenting stress and perceptions of family conflict at baseline (mean age = 16.88) and at 3-month, 9-month, and 15-month follow up assessments. Growth curve modeling indicated that both groups of mothers reported relative declines in parenting stress and family conflict across time. However, the mothers of adolescents with ADHD/ODD persistently reported more stress and conflict. Furthermore, decreases in family conflict were more predictive of reduced parenting stress in families of adolescents only diagnosed with ADHD. Our findings suggest that comorbid ODD is associated with parenting stress during late adolescence. Thus, interventions should focus on further reducing this stress as adolescents with ADHD/ODD transition to adulthood.

Highlights

  • We explored parenting stress in mothers of adolescents with ADHD in late adolescence.

  • All mothers experienced reductions in maternal stress during this period.

  • Mothers of adolescents with ADHD and comorbid ODD reported higher levels of stress than mothers of adolescents with ADHD only.

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Funding

This investigation utilizes data from a project funded by the National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant number 1R01HD058588).

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  1. Chanelle T. Gordon

    Present address: Family and Child Translational Research Center, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14015 Flanagan Blvd. (#202), Boys Town, NE, 68010, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, University of Buffalo, State University of New York, 12 Capen Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    Chanelle T. Gordon, Gregory A. Fabiano, Karen Hulme & Rebecca K. Vujnovic

  2. Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street Miami, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Gregory A. Fabiano

  3. Center for Children and Families, Psychology Department,, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street Miami, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Nicole K. Schatz

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  1. Chanelle T. Gordon
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Correspondence to Chanelle T. Gordon.

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G.A.F. has received investigator-initiated research grants from Shire Pharmaceuticals and Adlon Therapeutics. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Gordon, C.T., Fabiano, G.A., Schatz, N.K. et al. Parenting Stress during Late Adolescence in Mothers of Individuals with ADHD with and without ODD. J Child Fam Stud 30, 2966–2979 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02131-x

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