Rate and predictors of divorce among parents of youths with ADHD.

TitleRate and predictors of divorce among parents of youths with ADHD.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsWymbs, BT, Pelham, WE, Molina, BSG, Gnagy, EM, Wilson, TK, Greenhouse, JB
JournalJ Consult Clin Psychol
Volume76
Issue5
Pagination735-44
Date Published2008 Oct
ISSN1939-2117
KeywordsAdolescent, Adult, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child of Impaired Parents, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder, Divorce, Educational Status, Family Conflict, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Parents, Prospective Studies, Risk Assessment, Socioeconomic Factors, Substance-Related Disorders, Survival Analysis, Young Adult
Abstract

Numerous studies have asserted the prevalence of marital conflict among families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but evidence is surprisingly less convincing regarding whether parents of youths with ADHD are more at risk for divorce than are parents of children without ADHD. Using survival analyses, the authors compared the rate of marital dissolution between parents of adolescents and young adults with and without ADHD. Results indicated that parents of youths diagnosed with ADHD in childhood (n = 282) were more likely to divorce and had a shorter latency to divorce compared with parents of children without ADHD (n = 206). Among a subset of those families of youths with ADHD, prospective analyses indicated that maternal and paternal education level; paternal antisocial behavior; and child age, race/ethnicity, and oppositional-defiant/conduct problems each uniquely predicted the timing of divorce between parents of youths with ADHD. These data underscore how parent and child variables likely interact to exacerbate marital discord and, ultimately, dissolution among families of children diagnosed with ADHD.

DOI10.1037/a0012719
Alternate JournalJ Consult Clin Psychol
PubMed ID18837591
PubMed Central IDPMC2631569
Grant ListMH7862 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
HL076858 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
R01 AA011873-10 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
DA016631 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States
R01 DA012414 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States
MH069434 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R01 DA012414-06 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States
MH12010 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
ES05015 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
K21 AA000202 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
HL076852 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
AD12414 / AD / ADAMHA HHS / United States
AA11873 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AA011873 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
MH62946 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
MH53554 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
AA12342 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States
R37 AA011873 / AA / NIAAA NIH HHS / United States