Childhood ADHD Symptoms: Association with Parental Social Networks and Mental Health Service Use during Adolescence.

Dana Mason,Johanna Meyer,Regina Bussing,Bonnie Zima,Cynthia Garvan,Faye Gary

doi:10.3390/ijerph120911893

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the associations of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) risk status with subsequent parental social network characteristics and caregiver strain in adolescence; and examines predictors of adolescent mental health service use. Methods: Baseline ADHD screening identified children at high risk (n = 207) and low risk (n = 167) for ADHD. At eight-year follow-up, parents reported their social network characteristics, caregiver strain, adolescents’ psychopathology and mental health service utilization, whereas adolescents self-reported their emotional status and ADHD stigma perceptions. Analyses were conducted using ANOVAs and nested logistic regression modeling. Results: Parents of youth with childhood ADHD reported support networks consisting of fewer spouses but more healthcare professionals, and lower levels of support than control parents. Caregiver strain increased with adolescent age and psychopathology. Increased parental network support, youth ADHD symptoms, and caregiver strain, but lower youth stigma perceptions were independently associated with increased service use. Conclusions: Raising children with ADHD appears to significantly impact parental social network experiences. Reduced spousal support and overall lower network support levels may contribute to high caregiver strain commonly reported among parents of ADHD youth. Parental social network experiences influence adolescent ADHD service use. With advances in social networking technology, further research is needed to elucidate ways to enhance caregiver support during ADHD care.

Highlights

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder with significant public health implications, because it is (1) common, affecting more than 1 in 20 children [1];(2) associated with significant adverse outcomes for youth [2,3] and their family members [4]; and (3) treatable with appropriate diagnosis and intervention [5,6]
Screenings identified 476 (29.5%) children as high risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) because they were either already diagnosed or treated for ADHD, were suspected by parents or school as having ADHD, or elicited parent or school concerns about behavioral problems plus their standardized parent ADHD screening scores were at least 1.5 standard deviations above the norm
We suggest that further research should examine the potential role of conflicting parental ADHD explanatory models in causing caregiver stress and destabilizing the parents’

Summary

Introduction

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder with significant public health implications, because it is (1) common, affecting more than 1 in 20 children [1];(2) associated with significant adverse outcomes for youth [2,3] and their family members [4]; and (3) treatable with appropriate diagnosis and intervention [5,6]. Parental social networks may be one important contributor to such disparities, influencing all stages of the help-seeking process and illness career trajectories for pediatric chronic health conditions [12]. Most influential conceptual models of access to health care assume that health care utilization is influenced by need (e.g., disorder severity and functional impairment), along with other barriers and facilitators of access [13]. Of these models, the family network-based model is well-suited to capture the complex processes influencing whether mental disorder in youth is detected, considered potentially treatable, and what types of interventions may be called for. Network-based models shift the focus from individual rational decision-making to socially constructed decision-making patterns [14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion