The Evaluation of Parenting Styles of Children with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: Parenting has an important role in improving the performance of children with ADHD and in their families, this study will create awareness about parenting styles among parents addressing differences in parenting styles and improving the quality of child mental health.

Objective: This study was intended to evaluate the different parenting styles of parents having children with ADHD and healthy children. It also aimed to find out any relationship between the socio-demographic variables of children and parents with the parenting style of the diseased child.

Methodology: This was a case-control study. The study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet during the period from September 2020 to August 2022. ADHD was diagnosed using DSM-5 and confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist. A total of 60 parents of children (ADHD=30, Healthy=30) were interviewed who fulfilled the enrollment criteria. Semi-structured questionnaire for socio-demographic variables and a Bangla Parenting Style and Dimension Questionnaire (PSDQ) were used for assessing parenting style. The data analysis was conducted utilizing the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) method, followed by post-hoc comparisons using the Bonferroni correction.

Results: The predominant parenting style found to be applied to children with ADHD was authoritative (56.67%), followed by 26.67% authoritarian parenting and 16.33% permissive parenting style. Among the parents of healthy children, 53.33% were authoritative, 23.33% were authoritarian and permissive. There was a statistically significant association of parenting styles with education level and occupation. ADHD children's parents who studied up to the primary level had a significantly higher authoritarian score and (authoritarian p = 0.005) and the normal children's parents who studied up to the secondary level had a significantly higher authoritarian score (authoritarian p = 0.007. A significant association was found in the authoritarian domain in parents who were housewives (p = 0.032). Individuals within 6-9 years age range exhibit significantly higher scores in the authoritative domain (p=.001). Both boys and girls groups exhibit a considerably higher score in the authoritative domain (p=.003, p=.001).

Conclusion: The fact that parenting styles influence ADHD may appear to be a burden, but it can also be an opportunity to change one's life. Solutions like parent training programs can provide skills and strategies as well as help build resilience in parents to manage the challenging behavior of children with ADHD.