ADHD and anger contexts: electronic diary mood reports from mothers and children.
OBJECTIVE
Using electronic diaries (eDiaries), this study examined temporal links between child and maternal anger, as well as positive mood and perceived stress, in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) versus comparison peers.


METHODS
Across 7 days, half-hourly eDiaries were completed independently by mothers and their 8-12-year-old children (51 receiving medication for ADHD and 58 comparison peers).


RESULTS
Cross-informant analyses revealed systematic patterns of negative maternal moods in relation to child anger in both groups along with evidence of slower recovery in the ADHD group. Analogously, for both groups, children's anger reports increased and good-mood reports decreased in relation to maternal anger, whereas elevated stress in relation to maternal anger was restricted to children with ADHD.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that a negative affective climate is more likely to persist in ADHD than in comparison families. They also affirm the utility of child as well as parent eDiary reports and suggest that children may be willing to report low positive mood when reluctant to report negative mood. The promise of incorporating real-time data on mood patterning into tailored treatments for children with ADHD and their families is discussed.
Whalen
Carol K
CK
Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, 3340 Social Ecology II, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. ckwhalen@uci.edu
Henker
Barbara
B
Ishikawa
Sharon S
SS
Floro
Joshua N
JN
Emmerson
Natasha A
NA
Johnston
Joseph A
JA
Swindle
Ralph
R
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000786:Anger; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018579:Patient Selection; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012647:Self-Assessment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires