Maternal and child attributions in ADHD versus non-ADHD populations.
OBJECTIVE
This study explores child and maternal attributions in ADHD and non-ADHD populations. Participants included children with ADHD (N = 26) and without ADHD (N = 24) and their mothers.


METHODS
Children completed the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire-Revised (CASQ-R; Kaslow & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991) and mothers completed the Written Analogue Questionnaire (WAQ; Johnston & Freeman, 1997).


RESULTS
Consistent with hypotheses, differences were observed between the ADHD and non-ADHD groups on both child and maternal attributions measures. Post hoc analyses in the ADHD sample indicate that maternal, but not child, attributions differ as a function of medication status. Finally, correlations between child and maternal attributions were not found to be statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that the attributional styles of children with ADHD may place them at risk for poor self-esteem and/or depression in later life. The attributions provided by these children's mothers appear to differ slightly as a function of medication status, a finding that may lend insight into factors that influence parental choice of intervention and/or changes over the course of treatment.
Collett
Brent R
BR
Utah State University, USA. bcollett@u.washington.edu
Gimpel
Gretchen A
GA
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires