Family dysfunction is more strongly associated with ADHD than with general school problems

Abstract

Having a child for whom success at school is elusive is a challenge faced by many families. Such school difficulties are known to increase parenting stress, but what is not known from previous research is whether Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) poses an additional challenge over and above the difficulties encountered due to general school problems. We asked the parents of 248 school-aged children to complete the General Function scale from the McMaster Family Assessment Device. Stringent research criteria were used to categorize the children as having primarily ADHD (N= 49), primarily reading disability (RD) (N= 59), both ADHD and RD (N= 50), or neither (controls) (N= 90). Thirty-five children also met criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (OPD). ADHD (either alone, or in combination with RD) was associated with significantly more problems in family functioning, even after the children with OPD were excluded from the analyses.

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