Examining Latino Family Participation in Treatment for Childhood ADHD: The Role of Parental Cultural Factors and Perceptions

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common mental health disorder in childhood. Unfortunately, Latino youth and their families are at increased risk of demonstrating poor treatment outcomes. The current study examined the impact of parental cultural factors and perceptions on Latino family participation in a psychosocial intervention for childhood ADHD. Sixty-one Latino youth and at least one of their primary parents and teachers participated in the current study. Results indicated that parental acculturation, attitudes regarding treatment, and baseline severity of child symptomatology and functional impairment were related to treatment participation outcomes. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Keywords:

• Acculturation
• ADHD
• child psychology
• Latino/a
• stigma

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes if Health under Award Number R21HD078553. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Notes

1 Secondary checks were conducted to examine specific treatment condition and child demographic/diagnostic variables that emerged as significant in the preliminary analyses as covariates. Results were largely consistent. Thus, in order to preserve power and eliminate multicollinearity concerns, covariates were excluded from the primary analyses.