(PS1-D95) Investigating the Effects of Specific Child Behaviors on Specific Parenting Behaviors and the Moderating Influence of Parent ADHD & Depressive Symptoms

Child disruptive behaviors are highly stressful for parents to manage. Compared to parents with more typical children, parents of children with disruptive behaviors tend to use fewer positive and more negative parenting behaviors. However, it is unknown whether specific adaptive/disruptive child behaviors are associated with specific positive/negative parenting responses, and whether such relationships are strengthened or weakened by parent ADHD or depressive symptoms. Given that nearly 40% of parents of children with ADHD have at least one parent with ADHD or depression, it is crucial to learn how these problems may interact within families. Doing so could further inform behavioral parent training for parents with ADHD/depressive symptoms and improve outcomes of children raised in their homes. The current study aimed to address these gaps by examining the degree to which parents with elevated ADHD/depressive symptoms, on average, displayed stronger or weaker relationships between specific child behaviors and specific parent responses.
 

Ninety parent couples were randomly assigned to interact with a 9- to 12-year-old confederate child exhibiting either adaptive (“typical”) or disruptive (“ADHD/ODD”) behavior. Observers trained to reliability coded specific sequences of adaptive/disruptive child behaviors followed immediately by positive (i.e., labeled/unlabeled praise, reflection) or negative (i.e., direct/indirect commands, negative talk) parenting behaviors. Each parent completed self-ratings of ADHD symptoms (i.e., Current Symptoms Scale) and depressive symptoms (i.e., Beck Depression Inventory II).
 

Positive parenting outcomes: As parent ADHD symptoms increased, the association between child prosocial behavior and parent labeled praise (ΔR2=.022) weakened, while depression findings were null. Negative parenting outcomes: As parent ADHD symptoms increased, associations weakened between prosocial behavior and negative talk (ΔR2=.056), ODD behaviors and negative talk (ΔR2=.048), and hyperactivity and negative talk (ΔR2=.018), while the association between compliance and indirect commands (ΔR2=.025) strengthened; as parent depressive symptoms increased, associations weakened between prosocial behaviors and negative talk (ΔR2=.073), ODD behaviors and negative talk (ΔR2=.039), and prosocial behaviors and direct commands (ΔR2=.033), while the association between compliance and direct commands (ΔR2=.033) strengthened.
 

Broadly, findings demonstrated that relationships between specific child behaviors and specific negative parenting behaviors were typically weakened as parent ADHD/depressive symptoms increased, with some exceptions. If replicated, these results indicate that parents with higher ADHD/depressive symptoms may respond with greater inconsistency following certain child behaviors compared to parents with fewer symptoms. As such, they may especially benefit from behavioral parent training that focuses on how to respond more consistently to child behaviors uniquely impacted by parents’ respective symptoms.