Poster #48 - Moderation of Maternal Parenting by Inhibitory Control in the Prediction of Hyperactivity and Inattention

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Developmental Disabilities

Integrative Statement

It is important to identify the factors associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in order to develop evidence-based prevention programs. Among factors that can be prevention targets, parenting practices and child temperament have been shown to be associated with ADHD symptoms (Breaux & Harvey, 2018; Tung et al., 2015). Studies have also repeatedly shown that the interaction between parenting and child temperament can predict children’s adjustment (Slagt et al., 2016). Research on those interactions is important because it allows the identification of children most and least likely to benefit from prevention programs. However, little research had been done on temperament-parenting interactions in the prediction of ADHD symptoms. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study is to examine the interaction between parenting practices and the temperament dimension of inhibitory control in the prediction of ADHD symptoms.
Participants come from a longitudinal study following 572 children from all socioeconomic backgrounds in Québec (Canada) annually since they were 5 months old. 293 French-speaking families from the region of Montreal, Québec were solicited to participate in laboratory observations when the children were 4 years old. 195 mothers participated in these observations with their child (56.4% girls) and form the sample of the present study. Positive parenting was assessed at 4 years from laboratory observations of mother-child interactions in four contexts, coercive parenting was mother-reported at 5 years, inhibitory control was mother-reported at 6 years, and hyperactivity and inattention were mother-reported at 7 years. Mother education was included as a control variable.
Hyperactivity and inattention were modelled using a bifactor model (Model fit: chi2 = 2(13) = 8.58, p = 0.80; RMSEA = .00; SRMR = .03; TLI = 1.03; CFI = 1.00), which had better fit than a one factor model, a correlated factors model and a higher-order model. Thus, three factors were examined as outcomes, i.e., a specific hyperactivity factor, a specific inattention factor, and a common hyperactivity/inattention factor. Moderation analyses were conducted using MPlus 7.0 to examine whether the interaction between inhibitory control and parenting predicts these outcomes.
Results indicated that an interaction between positive parenting and inhibitory control predicted the common hyperactivity/inattention factor (see Table 1). Positive parenting practices predicted lower levels of hyperactivity/inattention only when children’s inhibitory control was high (see Figure 1). A regions of significance analysis showed that children higher or lower on inhibitory control differed on hyperactivity/inattention only at higher levels of positive parenting, with a higher bound of significance at -1.3 SD. Multigroup analyses indicated that there were no differences in results according to sex.
These results supported the vantage sensitivity model, which posits that some individuals show an increased sensitivity to positive experiences exclusively. Furthermore, this interaction suggests that there would be two different pathways regarding the development of hyperactivity/inattention, i.e., one pathway through lower inhibitory control and one pathway through lower positive parenting. Thus, interventions targeting parenting practices would be prioritized for children with higher inhibitory control while interventions aimed at improving children’s inhibitory control would be favored for those with lower inhibitory control.

Authors

• Charlie Rioux, Texas Tech University
  Presenting Author

• Julie Murray, University of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Natalie Castellanos Ryan, Université de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jean R. Séguin, Université de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Richard Ernest Tremblay, University of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sophie Parent, Université de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author