Parental beliefs about the nature of ADHD behaviours and their relationship to referral intentions in preschool children.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Parental beliefs about child problem behaviour have emerged as closely related to referral intentions to mental health services.

METHODS:
This study compared beliefs of severity, impact and advice seeking for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviours of parents whose preschool children present ADHD behaviours with those of parents whose children do not display such behaviours. Both parents of 295 preschoolers, aged 4-6 years, enrolled in kindergartens in Athens, filled in:
(i) a questionnaire composed by a vignette describing a hypothetical 5-year-old child presenting ADHD symptoms followed by rating scales assessing dimensions of severity, impact and referral intention, and (ii) the 'Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire' for screening ADHD behaviours in their own child.

RESULTS:
Results showed that almost half of the parents who reported ADHD behaviours in their own child replied that they had never met a child exhibiting such behaviours. These parents also perceived such behaviours as being less severe and with less negative family impact than parents who did not report such behaviours in their own child.

CONCLUSIONS:
Parents whose preschool child displays ADHD behaviours tend to perceive them as normal developmental patterns and may suspend the referral of the child. Implications of these findings for early identification of ADHD are discussed.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Maniadaki, K (K); Sonuga-Barke, E (E); Kakouros, E (E); Karaba, R (R);

Affiliation: Developmental Brain & Behaviour Unit, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton. katerina(-atsign-)arsi.gr

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Child: care, health and development (Child Care Health Dev), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Mar; vol 33 (issue 2) : pp 188-95

Dates: Created 2007/02/12; Completed 2007/07/16;

PMID: 17291323, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; therapy
Child
Child, Preschool
Culture
Female
Focus Groups

Focus Groups
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Parents - psychology
Questionnaires
Referral and Consultation

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.