Poster #160 - Longitudinal relations between ADHD symptoms and behavior problems in children: The moderating role of parenting

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

A considerable amount of literature has documented the positive associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms (ADHD) and children’s emotional-behavioral problems. At the same time, little is known about the moderating and mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. Children with ADHD tend to place greater demands on their parents and evoke more negative parenting behavior. Parents of children with ADHD report more frequent parent-child conflicts. This, in turn, may cause parents to become more rejecting, controlling and reactive. In the current longitudinal study we examined whether parent behavior during parent-child conflicts moderates the association between ADHD symptoms, sustained attention, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A community sample of school-aged children with and without ADHD and their parents participated in two waves of data collection at two-year intervals. There were a total of 83 children (mean age  = 9.22, SD = 1.36 years), 51% with ADHD and 49% without ADHD. Both parents and teachers reported ADHD symptoms. At Time 1, parents reported on children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Children’s sustained attention was measured using a neurocognitive task. In addition, children and their mothers participated in a parent-child discussion task that was used to measure negative and supportive parenting via a micro-coding system. At Time 2, children reported on their own internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results indicate that difficulties in sustained attention were associated with higher child-rated externalizing and internalizing behaviors at Time 2 for children whose mothers tend to use non-supportive parenting behaviors. In addition, difficulties in sustained attention were associated with lower child-rated externalizing behaviors among children whose mothers demonstrated supportive parenting behaviors. The results highlight the need for clinical intervention that supports parents in using effective strategies to manage parent-child conflicts. This has potential to the risk of psychopathology among children with high ADHD symptoms.

Authors

• Anat Zaidman-Zait, Tel Aviv University
  Presenting Author

• Iris Shilo, Tel Aviv University
  Non-Presenting Author