Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb;28(4):480-492.
doi: 10.1177/10870547231217089. Epub 2023 Dec 12.

Family Functioning in Children With ADHD and Subthreshold ADHD: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

Sampada Bhide  1   2 , Daryl Efron  3   4   5 , Obioha C Ukoumunne  6 , Vicki Anderson  3   4   5 , Jan M Nicholson  7 , Tim Silk  1   3 , Philip Hazell  8 , Alisha Gulenc  3 , Emma Sciberras  1   3
Affiliations

Family Functioning in Children With ADHD and Subthreshold ADHD: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

Sampada Bhide et al. J Atten Disord. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To compare family functioning over time for elementary school children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; N = 179) and subthreshold ADHD (ST-ADHD; N = 86), to children without ADHD (Control; N = 212).

Method: ADHD was assessed using the Conners 3 ADHD Index and Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children IV. At baseline, 18-month follow-up and 36-month follow-up, parents completed measures assessing a range of family functioning domains.

Results: At baseline, the ADHD group reported higher psychological distress, less parenting self-efficacy, less parenting consistency, and more stressful life events; and both groups reported poorer family quality of life (QoL) and greater parenting anger. Trajectories were largely similar to controls (i.e., stable over time), but unlike controls, ADHD and ST-ADHD groups showed lessening parent-partner support and parenting warmth, respectively; and both groups showed worsening aspects of family QoL.

Conclusion: Families of children with ADHD and ST-ADHD report persistently poor or worsening family functioning; highlighting a need for tailored psycho-social supports.

Keywords: ADHD; family functioning; longitudinal; subthreshold ADHD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow of participants through the longitudinal study. Note. Participants lost to follow-up were defined as those with no data on any outcome variable at the respective time points: aAt baseline, ADHD N = 167; ST-ADHD N = 78; Control N = 202. bAt 18 months, ADHD N = 136; ST-ADHD N = 68; Control N = 168. cAt 36 months, ADHD = N 122; ST-ADHD N = 59; Control N = 140.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Outcome means for the Control, ST-ADHD and ADHD groups at each time point. Note. Score range for family QoL scales = 0 to 100; range for parenting style scales and parenting self-efficiacy = 1 to 5; range for parent distress = 0 to 24; and range for stressful life events = 0 to 12.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alizadeh H., Applequist K. F., Coolidge F. L. (2007). Parental self-confidence, parenting styles, and corporal punishment in families of ADHD children in Iran. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(5), 567–572. - PubMed
    1. Balázs J., Keresztény Á. (2014). Subthreshold attention deficit hyperactivity in children and adolescents: A systematic review. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 23(6), 393–408. 10.1007/s00787-013-0514-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bhide S., Sciberras E., Anderson V., Hazell P., Nicholson J. M. (2019). Association between parenting style and socio-emotional and academic functioning in children with and without ADHD: A community-based study. Journal of Attention Disorders, 23(5), 463–474. 10.1177/1087054716661420 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Breaux R. P., Harvey E. A. (2019). A longitudinal study of the relation between family functioning and preschool ADHD symptoms. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 48(5), 749–764. - PubMed
    1. Brugha T., Bebbington P., Tennant C., Hurry J. (1985). The list of threatening experiences: A subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long-term contextual threat. Psychological Medicine, 15(1), 189–194. - PubMed

MeSH terms