Étude des comportements parentaux dans les liens entre symptomatologie du TDAH et comportements agressifs chez les enfants entre 3 et 6 ans

Abstract

IntroductionChildren's aggressive behaviors have an important economic impact and have a significant impact on the child's and family's development. The literature emphasizes the importance of the association between aggression and deficit disorder of attention and hyperactivity. Principally studied in categorical approach in children over 6 years old, ADHD symptomatology is however present early. The literature also highlights an association between parental behavior and aggressive behavior in young children aged 3 to 6 years. A strong presence of negative parenting behaviors and a low presence of positive parenting behaviors are both associated with the presence of aggressive behavior of children. However, unlike the strength of this association considered in the literature, it seems that parental behaviors account for about 4 to 6 % of the child's aggressive behavior. ADHD is also associated with parental behavior in a bidirectional way. The symptomatology of ADHD would then be associated with a greater presence of negative parenting behaviors and a lower presence of positive parenting behaviors. For all these associations and variables, we find that most studies focus on clinical populations older than 6 years, with a psychopathology approach of aggressiveness (conduct disorder), and with a categorical approach to ADHD without distinction of inattention symptomatology and hyperactivity symptomatology. Our aim is to study the joint influence of positive and negative parental behaviors and symptoms of ADHD or inattention symptomatology or hyperactive behaviors, in a dimensional approach, on the presence of aggressive behaviors in children from 3 to 6 years old. MethodsParents of 160 children evaluated aggressive behaviors, inattention symptomatology and hyperactivity symptomatology by a modified version of the “Childhood Behavior Questionnaire”. Parental behaviors were assessed using a French adaptation of “Parenting Practices Scale”. The statistical analyzes performed were mainly regressions (simple, multiple and with interactions) according to the negative-binomial law derived from the Poisson's law. ResultsOur analyzes show that the symptoms of ADHD, inattention symptomatology or hyperactivity symptomatology and negative parenting behaviors were associated with aggressive behavior. positive parenting behaviors have not been associated with aggressive behavior. Multiple regression analyzes show that there is partial mediation but no moderation effect. The most explanatory models are those in multiple regression (negative and positive parental behaviors, symptomatology of ADHD or inattention symptomatology or hyperactivity symptomatology) without the interaction's terms. ConclusionThe presence of aggressive behaviors in children seems to be partly explained by parental behaviors, but it is all the more explained when the child has hyperactivity and inattention symptomatology. Finally, these results show that it is important for a clinician to consider the presence of ADHD symptomatology, even below a diagnosis of ADHD, when a young child exhibits aggressive behaviors and thus take this into account in the therapeutic work undertaken with the child and his family. These results also show the interest of working according to a dimensional approach of aggressive behavior, but also and especially ADHD. Finally, we discuss this involvement in the current debate on the etiology of ADHD.