David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Parents Of ADHD Kids Need Treatment, Too
January 14, 2004
(The Cox News Service) -- Treatment for many young children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder should also include treatment for their parents, according to new research from the University of Maryland's ADHD Program.
In one of the first studies of preschool children with ADHD, the research team found that parents of children with the condition are 24 times more likely to have the disorder themselves, as compared with the parents of children without ADHD.
The study also showed that, when ADHD preschoolers also suffer from other serious behavioral problems, the parents are two to five times more likely to suffer from a wide range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and drug addictions.
"The evidence is dramatic and the message clear: We need to treat the whole family, not just the child," says University of Maryland psychologist Andrea Chronis, the study's lead author and director of the Maryland ADHD program.
The research is published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
January 14, 2004
(The Cox News Service) -- Treatment for many young children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder should also include treatment for their parents, according to new research from the University of Maryland's ADHD Program.
In one of the first studies of preschool children with ADHD, the research team found that parents of children with the condition are 24 times more likely to have the disorder themselves, as compared with the parents of children without ADHD.
The study also showed that, when ADHD preschoolers also suffer from other serious behavioral problems, the parents are two to five times more likely to suffer from a wide range of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and drug addictions.
"The evidence is dramatic and the message clear: We need to treat the whole family, not just the child," says University of Maryland psychologist Andrea Chronis, the study's lead author and director of the Maryland ADHD program.
The research is published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
