9.2 PARENT AND INFANT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY PARENTING DISTRESS AMONG FAMILIES WITH ADHD

Abstract

ADHD is a highly heritable disorder. Thus, offspring of parents with ADHD are at high risk for ADHD. Early parenting influences brain development and may contribute to the expression of inherited vulnerability to ADHD. However, little is known about factors affecting parenting of infants in families with ADHD. Parental stress is linked to less sensitive parenting and, therefore, may be one such factor. Given impairments associated with ADHD, including greater interpersonal dysfunction, we hypothesized that parents with ADHD and their co-parents would report greater parenting stress compared to families without ADHD.