Parent stress and coping in relation to child ADHD severity and associatedchild disruptive behavior problems

Examined parent role distress and coping in relation to childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in mothers and fathers of 66 childre n age 7 to 11 (42 boys, 24 girls; mean age = 10.2). Parents of children wit h ADHD combined and inattentive subtypes expressed more role dissatisfactio n than parents of control children. Parents of ADHD combined and inattentiv e type children did not differ significantly in levels of distress. For mot hers, child inattention and oppositional-conduct problems but not hyperacti vity contributed uniquely to role distress (dissatisfaction related to pare nting or parenting performance). For fathers, parenting role distress was a ssociated uniquely with child oppositional or aggressive behaviors but not with ADHD symptom severity. Parent coping by more use of positive reframing (thinking about problems as challenges that might be overcome) was associa ted with higher role satisfaction for both mothers and fathers. Community s upports were associated with higher distress for mothers only.