Study of Level of Stress in the Parents of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: Parents who have children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience high level of stress related to caring for their children. But not much research has been conducted in this area in India. This study aimed to assess the stress of parenting children with ADHD. Methods: This is a clinic based comparative study wherein the parents of fifty children with ADHD were compared with parents of 50 healthy children. DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD and Conner's Parent Rating Scale were administrated to diagnose and assess subtype of ADHD and the severity of ADHD respectively. Parental Stress scale (PSS) was used to examine subjective stress experienced by the parents. Results: Parents in the case group were more stressed than in control group and the difference was statistically significant. Stress was associated with all 3 subtypes of ADHD but it was highest with combined type and least with inattentive type. Also the combined subtype was the most severe form of ADHD. Conclusion: The results of the study highlight that the parents of children with ADHD experience immense stress. Combined subtype (CT) was the most severe form of ADHD while the inattentive subtype was the least severe one. Further CT was associated with the highest levels of stress in parents, probably because of its highest degree of severity. (Contains 4 tables.)