Does attention deficit hyperactivity disorder worsen family functioning and parenting styles? A case control study

Abstract

Objective

A bidirectional relationship between family functioning and parenting styles and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is proposed. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of ADHD symptoms on parenting styles and the general functionality of the family as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Methods

73 children with ADHD (56%) and 56 controls (43%) (a total of 129 participants, 31% female, 69% male) with a mean age of 11.3 (7–17, n: 129) were included in the study, which was conducted in Gaziantep University Hospital Child Psychiatry Department in 2022. The participants completed psychometric scales.

Results

Parents of children with ADHD showed higher positive parenting scores than the control group (p < 0.05). Inconsistent discipline scores were substantially higher in the ADHD combined subtype (14.38 ± 5.2) than in the attention deficit dominant group (17.59 ± 3.96) In addition, a strong correlation was found between familial functionality scores and ADHD severity in the ADHD attention deficit dominant subtype (r:0.601; p:0.027) and as ADHD severity increased, family functionality decreased.

Conclusions

This study shows that parents of children with ADHD have different parenting styles and ADHD affects the overall functionality of the family in the Turkish sample.

Keywords:

• ADHD
• Family functioning
• Parenting style
• Child
• Adolescent
• depression
• anxiety

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants of the study.

Ethics approval

The study was approved by Gaziantep University Ethics Committee. (Date:2022, No:117). This study was performed in terms of the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Consent for publication

The current study was not published in another journal and is currently not under review for publication at another journal. All of the authors have contributed to the study and approve of its submission in its final form.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all families and children.

Authors’ contributions

All authors were involved in all stages. (Conceptualization, Data Acquisition, Formal Analysis, Supervision, Writing Original Draft, Writing, Review& Editing.)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Part of the current study were presented at the 13^th International Congress on Psychopharmacology and 1st International Symposium on Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology as “The Effect of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms on Parenting Styles and Family Functioning in Children.”.