This study followed 70 mothers and their children in the Washington, DC area. The children were aged 6 to 10 and all met full criteria for ADHD. The mothers were not selected for having ADHD, and about 14% of them (10 mothers) had enough symptoms to meet ADHD criteria themselves. Families took part in a short behavioral parent training program of 5 sessions, fewer than the usual 8 to 12 week programs.
On average, the children's disruptive behavior improved after the program. But mothers who had more ADHD symptoms saw less improvement in their child's behavior, even after their child's starting scores were taken into account.
The study found that this link was explained by changes in negative parenting. Mothers with more ADHD symptoms reduced their observed negative parenting less during play and homework tasks. Once negative parenting was accounted for, a mother's ADHD symptoms no longer predicted how much her child improved. Maternal ADHD was not linked to changes in positive parenting, to the child's impairment scores, or to how many sessions mothers attended. Child behavior was rated by mothers, and complete observational data were available for only 32 families.
The authors suggest that assessing and treating a mother's ADHD, when present, may help children with ADHD get more benefit from behavioral parent training, and that larger studies with a full program are needed.
Source: Andrea Chronis‐Tuscano, Kelly O’Brien, Charlotte Johnston, et al.. The Relation Between Maternal ADHD Symptoms & Improvement in Child Behavior Following Brief Behavioral Parent Training is Mediated by Change in Negative Parenting. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (2011). doi:10.1007/s10802-011-9518-2