Symposium 113 - Parenting Thought Traps: Maladaptive Cognitions Impacting Parents Raising Youth with Disruptive Behavior Problems

Saturday, November 18, 2023

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

Location: Clearwater (702), Level 7

CE: 1.5

Keywords: Parenting, ADHD,
Level of Familiarity: Moderate to Advanced
Recommended Readings: Chacko, A., Wymbs, B. T., Rajwan, E., Wymbs, F., & Feirsen, N. (2017). Characteristics of parents of children with ADHD who never attend, drop out, and complete behavioral parent training. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(3), 950–960. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0618-z, Hoza, B., Owens, J. S., Pelham, W. E., Jr., Swanson, J. M., Conners, C. K., Hinshaw, S. P., Arnold, L. E., & Kraemer, H. C. (2000). Parent cognitions as predictors of child treatment response in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28(6), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005135232068, Jiang, Y., Haack, L. M., Delucchi, K., Rooney, M., Hinshaw, S. P., McBurnett, K., & Pfiffner, L. J. (2018). Improved parent cognitions relate to immediate and follow-up treatment outcomes for children with ADHD-predominantly inattentive presentation. Behavior Therapy, 49(4), 567–579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2017.11.007, ,

Chair(s)

BW

Brian Wymbs, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
Sierra Hightower, B.S. (she/her/hers)

Graduate Student
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio

Discussant(s)

Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Professor
University of Maryland- College Park
College Park, Maryland

Presenter(s)

YJ

Yuanyuan Jiang, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Saint Paul University
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
SC

Sara Chung, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California, San Francisco
Newark, California
Sierra Hightower, B.S. (she/her/hers)

Graduate Student
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio
Rosanna Breaux, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia

The way parents think about their parenting role, also known as parental cognitions, has a critical impact on how parent-child interactions unfold. Among parents of children with chronic disruptive behavior problems (e.g., ADHD), negative parental cognitions are common. Compared to parents of children without disruptive behavior problems, parents of children with disruptive behavior problems are more likely to view their child’s behavior with cognitive errors, as well as endorse lower parenting self-esteem (i.e., low satisfaction and efficacy). However, the field is in need of further investigation on links between parental cognitions and relevant parent (e.g., emotion regulation, parenting, interparental communication) and child outcomes (e.g., child mental health, emotion regulation). With a clearer understanding of associations between parental cognitions and relevant child and parent outcomes, clinicians will be better-positioned to make meaningful progress in evidence-based services for youth with disruptive behavior problems (e.g., behavioral parent training; BPT).

The goal of this symposium is to highlight the emerging research on the links between parental cognitions and relevant outcomes for parents and their children with chronic disruptive behaviors. Dr. Yuanyuan Jiang will present her findings on refining the measurement of parental cognitions across three scales. Dr. Sara Chung and colleagues will discuss their investigation of how parental cognitions (i.e., self-competence, treatment expectations) predicted parent engagement in, and child outcomes of, BPT with a multi-ethnic group of parents. Sierra Hightower and colleagues will present their study highlighting parenting self-esteem as a moderator of the causal link between managing disruptive child behavior and parenting and interparental communication behavior for parent couples raising children with ADHD. Dr. Rosanna Breaux and colleagues will present on how parents cognitive emotion regulation strategies relate to youth affectivity and emotional-behavioral outcomes on a daily basis in sample of adolescent with ADHD. Finally, Dr. Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, a nationally-recognized expert on youth with ADHD, including best practices for addressing relevant parent factors (e.g., psychopathology) within the context of BPT for ADHD, will discuss these findings.

By addressing gaps in the literature regarding parental cognitions and relevant parent and child outcomes, this set of talks aims to provide a foundation for researchers and clinicians to leverage as they work to improve the well-being of parents and their children with chronic disruptive behaviors. This symposium stands to be an outstanding opportunity for researchers and clinicians to better understand the measurement, correlates and consequences of parental cognitions among parents likely to present for behavioral interventions, including those across different racial/ethnic groups. Finally, it will provide an opportunity to engage with presenters eager to discuss the path forward for effectively assessing and addressing the effects of maladaptive parental cognitions on evidence-based services for youth with disruptive behavior problems.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:

Explain parental cognitions in relation to managing disruptive child behaviors.
List the best practices related to assessing parental cognitions.
Describe the relevance of parental cognitions related to treatment in diverse group of parents.
Identify how parental cognitions affect the relation between disruptive child behaviors and relevant parent outcomes.
Discuss how parental cognitions translate to emotion regulation practices in adolescents.