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Background: Experiencing mental health difficulties during pregnancy predicts a variety of quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes for Black women. However, one area of prenatal mental health remains underresearched: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Given the impairments reported by adults with significant symptoms of ADHD and the linkages between depression and ADHD in nonpregnant samples, the current study aimed to examine the relationships among ADHD symptoms, depression, and QoL in Black pregnant women. Materials and Methods: Participants for this study were 116 pregnant Black women aged 18–43 years (mean age = 27.14, standard deviation = 5.67) presenting to an urban women's health clinic. We investigated associations among maternal ADHD symptoms, risk of maternal depression, and different aspects of QoL, including relationships, life outlook, and life productivity. Results: Linear hierarchical regressions were performed to investigate the ability of maternal depression risk to mediate the relationship between maternal ADHD symptoms and QoL. Moderate to large negative correlations were found between maternal ADHD symptoms, depression risk, and quality of life (p's ≤ 0.001). Furthermore, maternal depression risk either partially or fully explained the relationship between ADHD symptoms and the different QoL variables. Conclusions: This study illustrates that symptoms of both ADHD and depression are important clinical considerations for Black women during pregnancy. As significant ADHD symptoms can lead to the development of depression, future research should investigate the temporal relationship between depression and QoL in pregnant women diagnosed with ADHD, as well as study whether ADHD treatment results in improvements in depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To date, most investigations of mental health in pregnant women have focused on depression or substance use. This study aimed to (a) delineate the relationships between symptoms of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and prenatal health behaviors and (b) explore whether the symptom clusters of ADHD differentially predict prenatal health behaviors (e.g., physical strain, healthy eating, prenatal vitamin use). Method: A total of 198 pregnant women (mean age = 27.94 years) completed measures of ADHD symptoms, prenatal health behaviors, and depression. Results: Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity/emotional lability all evidenced significant relationships with the prenatal health behaviors, each differentially predicting different prenatal health behaviors. Conclusion: As decreased engagement in adequate prenatal health behaviors puts both the mother and fetus at risk for negative birth outcomes, future research should work to develop a brief ADHD screen to be used in obstetric clinics and should investigate these relationships within a sample of women with a diagnosis of ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent to which maternal attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms predict improvement in child behavior following brief behavioral parent training. Change in parenting was examined as a potential mediator of the negative relationship between maternal ADHD symptoms and improvement in child behavior. Seventy mothers of 6-10 year old children with ADHD underwent a comprehensive assessment of adult ADHD prior to participating in an abbreviated parent training program. Before and after treatment, parenting was assessed via maternal reports and observations and child disruptive behavior was measured via maternal report. Controlling for pre-treatment levels, maternal ADHD symptomatology predicted post-treatment child disruptive behavior problems. The relation between maternal ADHD symptomatology and improvement in child behavior was mediated by change in observed maternal negative parenting. This study replicated findings linking maternal ADHD symptoms with attenuated child improvement following parent training, and is the first to demonstrate that negative parenting at least partially explains this relationship. Innovative approaches combining evidence-based treatment for adult ADHD with parent training may therefore be necessary for families in which both the mother and child have ADHD. Larger-scale studies using a full evidence-based parent training program are needed to replicate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evidence many problems in the classroom. Teacher in-service training is routinely used to inform school professionals about a number of special topics; however, the efficacy of such in-service training for ADHD has not been established. The present study examined the efficacy of brief in-service training focused on evidence-based assessment and treatment of ADHD. Teachers from six schools (N = 142) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area were randomly assigned at the school level to receive in-service training immediately or to a waitlist control group that received in-service training 1 month later. Measures of ADHD knowledge and use of behavior modification techniques were obtained at pre- and post-in-service intervention. Results indicated that the in-service training resulted in increased ADHD knowledge. Special education teachers also reported increased use of behavior modification techniques resulting from the in-service training. Clinical and research implications are presented. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article details a study which examined the effectiveness of osmotic-release oral system (OROS) methylphenidate in treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and parenting behaviors in mothers. The study included 23 mother-child dyads in which both were diagnosed with ADHD. It found that mothers well tolerated OROS methylphenidate. Study authors concluded that OROS methylphenidate causes significant improvement in maternal ADHD symptoms and parenting.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for adverse outcomes such as substance abuse and criminality, particularly if they develop conduct problems. Little is known about early predictors of the developmental course of conduct problems among children with ADHD, however. Parental psychopathology and parenting were assessed in 108 children who first met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) Criteria for ADHD at 4–7 years old. When demographic variables and baseline ADHD and conduct problems were controlled, maternal depression predicted conduct problems 2–8 years following the initial assessment, whereas positive parenting during the structured parent—child interaction task predicted fewer future conduct problems. These findings suggest that maternal depression is a risk factor, whereas early positive parenting is a protective factor, for the developmental course of conduct problems among children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite the vast literature supporting the efficacy of stimulant medication in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), several limitations of pharmacological treatments highlight the clear need for effective psychosocial treatments to be identified. A large evidence base exists for behavioral interventions, including parent training and school interventions, which has resulted in their classification as “empirically validated treatments.” Additionally, social skills training with generalization components, intensive summer treatment programs, and educational interventions appear promising in the treatment of ADHD. Given the chronic impairment children with ADHD experience across multiple domains of functioning, multimodal treatments are typically necessary to normalize the behavior of these children. The state of the ADHD treatment literature is reviewed, important gaps are identified (e.g., treatment for adolescents), and directions for future research are outlined within a developmental psychopathology framework. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]