PARENTAL ADHD AND THEIR OFFSPRING FROM THE PERINATAL PERIOD TO EARLY CHILDHOOD

Abstract

ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that has been increasingly recognized as persisting into adulthood. ADHD has high heritability, and parental behaviors influence child ADHD symptoms and impairment. In fact, parent behavior training is the primary treatment modality for preschool-aged children with ADHD. Thus, examining offspring at familial risk for ADHD from infancy to preschool and the impact of parental ADHD on early parenting could elucidate potential intervention targets to decrease the prevalence of ADHD and/or reduce impairment for children born to parents with ADHD. Allison Baker, MD, will present the trajectory of ADHD symptoms across pregnancy. Heather Marie Joseph, DO, will describe findings regarding predictors of parental distress across the first year of parenthood for parents with ADHD and their co-parents. Mai Uchida, MD, will report on ADHD symptoms among preschool-aged offspring of parents with ADHD. Joyce Lui, PhD, will review thematic analyses from stakeholder meetings regarding identification and treatment of African American families, both parents and children, with ADHD in pediatric primary care. Pregnant women with ADHD had a significant increase in symptom scores across pregnancy, regardless of medication (p = 0.027), and women returning to work postpartum had an increase in total functional impairment score (p = 0.043). A cohort of mother-father-infant triads found that families with parent ADHD experienced greater parental distress (p < 0.05). Both parent sleep (p < 0.01) and infant temperament, surgency (p = 0.03) and effortful control (p < 0.01), were associated with parental distress. Among a sample of preschool-aged children, those born to parents with ADHD had significantly higher rates of attention problems compared to the children of control parents (OR = 2.37, p = 0.04). Stakeholders identified 6 themes of importance when approaching African American families in pediatric primary care settings regarding screening for parent ADHD and treatment of both the parent and child. The impact of parent ADHD on early parenting and offspring development has been underrecognized. These presentations provide new insights into potential intervention targets to reduce the familial transmissions of ADHD as well as early markers of risk for developing childhood ADHD.