Maternal parenting styles and mother-child relationship among adolescents with and without persistent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Teen inattention plus maternal depression drives colder, more controlling parenting no matter if ADHD persists or fades.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Gau et al. (2013) asked the adolescents and their moms about parenting style. Half the teens had ADHD that stayed strong, a quarter had ADHD that faded, and the rest had no ADHD.
Each teen filled out a warmth scale and a control scale about mom. Moms also rated their own mood and personality. The team then looked for patterns.
What they found
Both ADHD groups said mom felt colder and more controlling than the no-ADHD group. The difference was medium-large, not tiny.
The biggest driver was teen inattention, not hyperactivity. If mom was also depressed or highly anxious, the cold-control pattern got stronger.
How this fits with other research
Takeda et al. (2012) already showed that when moms report depression, their kids with ADHD collect more comorbidities. Shur-Fen adds that the same maternal depression also shapes how the teen views mom’s style.
McGonigle et al. (2014) seems to disagree: they found that ADHD symptoms worsen internalizing in preschoolers with ASD. But the clash is only skin-deep—J studied tiny kids with ASD, while Shur-Fen looked at straight-ADHD teens. Age and diagnosis shift the pathway.
Marsack et al. (2017) line up nicely: warm parenting buffered developmental-delayed children from later emotion dysregulation. Shur-Fen flips the coin—low warmth plus ADHD predicts rougher teen-parent fit.
Why it matters
When you see an ADHD teen report “my mom’s on my back,” check mom’s mood first. A short depression screen for the parent can save months of parent training that targets the wrong variable. If mom scores high, add a caregiver support plan or refer before you teach praise and choices.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We investigated mothering and mother-child interactions in adolescents with and without persistent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a sample of 190 adolescents with persistent DSM-IV ADHD, 147 without persistent ADHD, and 223 without ADHD. Both participants and their mothers received psychiatric interviews for diagnosis of ADHD and other mental disorders; and reported on the Parental Bonding Instrument about mother's parenting style, the Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents for interactions with mothers and home behavioral problems. The mothers also reported on their ADHD and neurotic/depressive symptoms. Our results based on both informants showed that both ADHD groups obtained less affection/care and more overprotection and control from the mothers, and perceived less family support than those without ADHD. Child's inattention and comorbidity, and maternal depression were significantly correlated with decreased maternal affection/care and increased maternal controls; child's hyperactivity-impulsivity and maternal neurotic trait were significantly correlated with maternal overprotection; and child's inattention and comorbidity, and maternal neurotic/depressive symptoms were significantly correlated with impaired mother-child interactions and less family support. Our findings suggested that, regardless of persistence, childhood ADHD diagnosis, particularly inattention symptoms and comorbidity, combining with maternal neurotic/depressive symptoms was associated with impaired maternal process.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.02.002