Understanding discipline in families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a structural equation model.

One hundred and fifty-five mothers of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) completed a semi-structured interview, the Parenting Stress Index Questionnaire (Abidin, 1990), to evaluate parenting stress. The Parenting Scale (Arnold, O'Leary, Wolff & Acker, 1993) was also administered to measure dysfunctional discipline strategies. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model in which the independent variables were the Child's Characteristics and the Socio-Educational Status of his or her family; intermediate variables were Parenting Stress concerning the Child Domain and concerning the Parent Domain; and the dependent variable was Parental Discipline. The results confirm our hypotheses. Interventions in these families should therefore incorporate a component focused on Parenting Stress (in both the Child Domain and the Parent Domain), as a determinant of Parental Discipline.

Understanding Discipline in Families of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: a Structural Equation Model

One hundred and fifty-five mothers of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) completed a semi-structured interview, the Parenting Stress Index Questionnaire (Abidin, 1990), to evaluate parenting stress. The Parenting Scale (Arnold, O’Leary, Wolff & Acker, 1993) was also administered to measure dysfunctional discipline strategies. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model in which the independent variables were the Child’s Characteristics and the Socio-Educational Status of his or her family; intermediate variables were Parenting Stress concerning the Child Domain and concerning the Parent Domain; and the dependent variable was Parental Discipline. The results confirm our hypotheses. Interventions in these families should therefore incorporate a component focused on Parenting Stress (in both the Child Domain and the Parent Domain), as a determinant of Parental Discipline (AU)

Ciento cincuenta y cinco madres de niños con un trastorno de déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH) completaron una entrevista semi-estructurada y el Indice de Stress Parental de Abidin (1990). También se administró la Escala de Paternidad (Arnols, O´Leary, Wolff & Acker, 1993) para evaluar estrategias disfuncionales de disciplina. Se plantea un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales en el que se comprueba que las variables independientes son las características del niño y el estatus socioeducativo de la familia; las variables intermedias son el estrés parental, tanto del dominio de los padres como del dominio del niño; y la variable dependiente fue la disciplina parental. Los resultados confirman nuestras hipótesis. Por consiguiente, en las intervenciones con estas familias debe de incorporarse un componente que se centre en el estrés parental, por su papel determinante en el ejercicio de la disciplina parental (AU)

Delay and reward choice in ADHD: an experimental test of the role of delay aversion.

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) choose smaller sooner (SS) over larger later (LL) rewards more than controls. Here we assess the contributions of impulsive drive for immediate rewards (IDIR) and delay aversion (DAv) to this pattern. We also explore the characteristics of, and the degree of familiality in, ADHD SS responders. We had 360 ADHD probands; 349 siblings and 112 controls (aged between 6 to 17 years) chose between SS (1 point after 2 s) and LL reward (2 points after 30 s) outcomes on the Maudsley Index of Delay Aversion (Kuntsi, Oosterlaan, & Stevenson, 2001): Under one condition SS choice led to less overall trial delay under another it did not. ADHD participants chose SS more than controls under both conditions. This effect was larger when SS choice reduced trial delay. ADHD SS responders were younger, had lower IQ, more conduct disorder and had siblings who were more likely to be SS responders themselves. The results support a dual component model in which both IDIR and DAv contribute to SS choice in ADHD. SS choice may be a marker of an ADHD motivational subtype.

Intelligence in DSM-IV combined type attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is not predicted by either dopamine receptor/transporter genes or other previously identified risk alleles for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

A major goal of genetic studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is to identify individual characteristics that might help segregate the disorder's inherent heterogeneity. [Mill et al. (2006); Arch Ger Psychiatry 63:462-469] recently reported a potentially important association between two dopamine-related risk polymorphisms (DRD4 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in exon 3 and DAT1 VNTR in the 3' UTR) and lowered IQ in ADHD. The objective of the current study was to replicate the [Mill et al. (2006); Arch Ger Psychiatry 63:462-469] findings in a clinical sample and to extend the analysis to a large range of alternative SNP markers of putative ADHD risk alleles identified in a recent study [Brookes et al. (2006); Mol Genet 11:934-953]. Participants were 1081 children and adolescents with a research-confirmed combined type ADHD diagnosis and 1300 unaffected siblings who took part in the International Multi-centre ADHD Genetics (IMAGE) project. They were recruited from multiple settings from across Europe: Belgium, Britain, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. The results were that ADHD was associated with reduced IQ. However, there was no association between the two dopamine-related risk polymorphisms and IQ in either the probands or their siblings. Furthermore, other selected genetic markers previously demonstrated to be associated with ADHD in this sample were not associated with IQ. This large scale study with a clinically ascertained and regorously diagnosed sample failed to replicate the association between genetic polymorphisms in the dopamine system and IQ in ADHD. We also observed no association of other SNPs with IQ in ADHD.