(PS1-D97) Sibling Relationships, Self-regulation, and Parenting Stress in Young Children At-risk For adhd

Introduction: Siblings play an integral role in children’s development. Positive sibling relationships have been proven to help develop and foster prosocial skills. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common, childhood neurodevelopmental disorder that can adversely affect sibling relationships. Poor self-regulation is a symptom of ADHD and may impact a child’s ability to connect with other family members, resulting in poorer quality of sibling relationships. Moreover, strained sibling relationships may exacerbate parenting stress and adversely impact overall family functioning. Thus, the current study aimed to examine sibling relationships in young children who are at-risk for ADHD and their associations with self-regulation and parenting stress.

Method: Caregivers of 34 young children (M age = 3.91 years; 76.5% male; 55.9% White) who are at-risk for ADHD completed the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (PEP-SRQ) and Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short Form (PSI-4-SF) during the pre-treatment phase for a larger randomized controlled trial. Behavioral self-regulation was assessed using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) Task, also completed during pre-treatment. Two-tailed Pearson’s correlation was conducted to examine the relationships between sibling relationships, child behavioral self-regulation, and parenting stress.

Results: Greater levels of conflict and agonism among siblings were associated with increased parental distress (r = .45, p = .007), parent-child dysfunctional interaction (r = .50, p = .002), difficult child (r = .42, p = .013), and total parenting stress (r = .51, p = .002). However, neither warmth/closeness nor rivalry/competition in sibling relationships was associated with child behavioral self-regulation or parenting stress, p > .05.

Conclusion: Overall, increased conflict and agonism between siblings were associated with greater parenting stress, specifically increases in parent-child negative interaction and caregiver-perceived difficult child. However, child self-regulation skills were not related to sibling relationships or parenting stress. Early intervention for young children at-risk for ADHD may consider leveraging sibling relationships to optimize overall family functioning.