Child and Parent Predictors of Perceptions of Parent—Child Relationship Quality

• Published in: Journal of attention disorders Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 37 - 48
• Main Authors: Gerdes, Alyson C., Hoza, Betsy, Arnold, L. Eugene, Hinshaw, Stephen P., Wells, Karen C., Hechtman, Lily, Greenhill, Laurence L., Swanson, James M., Pelham, William E., Wigal, Timothy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications 01-07-2007; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Affect; Assertiveness; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - therapy; Attention Deficit Disorders; Attitude Measures; Beck Depression Inventory; Behavior Therapy; Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use; Child; Children; Childrens Depression Inventory; Combined Modality Therapy; Comparative Analysis; Correlation; Depression (Psychology); Depression - diagnosis; Drug Therapy; Father-Child Relations; Fathers; Female; Humans; Hyperactivity; Male; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Parent Attitudes; Parent Child Relations Questionnaire; Parent Child Relationship; Parenting Styles; Parents; Power (Psychology); Power Structure; Predictor Variables; Questionnaires; Social Cognition; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); parent—child relationships; ADHD; depression
• ISSN: 1087-0547; 1557-1246
• DOI: 10.1177/1087054706295664

Objective/Method: Predictors of perceptions of parent—child relationship quality were examined for 175 children with ADHD, 119 comparison children, and parents of these children, drawn from the follow-up phase of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. Results/Conclusion: Children with ADHD perceived their mothers and fathers as more power assertive than comparison children. Children higher on depressive symptomatology also perceived their mothers and fathers as less warm and more power assertive. Mothers perceived themselves as more power assertive and fathers perceived themselves as less warm if they were higher on depressive symptomatology themselves or had children with ADHD or higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Several interactions indicated that the association between child factors and parental perceptions of warmth and power assertion often depended on parental depressive symptomatology. The findings resolve a previous contradiction in the literature regarding the relationship between child depressive symptoms and parental perceptions of parent—child relationship quality. (J. of Att. Dis. 2007;11(1) 37-48)