Perception of Parenting Style by Children with ADHD and Its Relation with Inattention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity and Externalizing Symptoms

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies 2016-05, Vol.25 (5), p.1656-1671
• Main Authors: Molina, María Fernanda, Musich, Francisco Martín
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptance; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autonomy; Behavior; Behavior Disorders; Behavior Problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Child Development; Child Rearing; Childrearing practices; Children & youth; Conceptual Tempo; Developmental Stages; Emotional Response; Family Relationship; Hyperactivity; Impulsivity; Marital Instability; Mental Disorders; Modeling (Psychology); Mothers; Neuropsychology; Original Paper; Parent-child relations; Parental control; Parenting style; Parenting Styles; Parents; Parents & parenting; Perceived control; Perceptions; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Resistance (Psychology); Social Environment; Social Sciences; Sociology; Statistical Analysis; Young Children
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-015-0316-2

Children’s perception of their parents’ behavior is very important for their adjustment. Raising a child with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be particularly challenging. However, little is known about how children with ADHD perceive their parents’ childrearing style. The main purpose of this paper is to study how children with ADHD perceive acceptance and control in parent–child relationships and this perception’s relationship with inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and externalizing behaviors. Participants were children between 7 and 13 years old with ADHD who were attending psychotherapy (ADHD), children without ADHD who were attending psychotherapy (APG), and children with unknown ADHD status who were not attending psychotherapy (NPG). Furthermore, one parent of each child participated in the study. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that children with ADHD perceived higher levels of pathological control in their relationships with their mothers than did APG and NPG children. NPG children perceived higher extreme autonomy than ADHD and APG children. Linear regression analyses revealed that the perception of pathological parental control and extreme autonomy predicted externalizing symptoms in children with ADHD. The perception of maternal acceptance and pathological control predicted inattention in APG children. Also, perceived maternal pathological control and perceived paternal acceptance predicted externalizing symptoms in APG children. Thus, these results show the importance of taking into account children’s perception of their relationships with their parents in addition to parental reports of their own behavior.