Parenting Stress and the Child With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Presents a critical review of research concerning the stress of parenting a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Four lines of research have been pursued. First, studies demonstrate increased stress reported by parents of hyperactive children. Second, studies of parental psychopathology suggest that for some parents such disturbance is independent of the child's pathology and reflects a genetic substrate for the same and related disorders. Third, ADHD is associated with increased parental marital discord. Fourth, research regarding parent-child interaction patterns suggests a child-to-adult direction of effect more than the reverse. Directions for future research are recommended.