Marital and Coparenting Relationships: Associations With Parent and Child Symptoms of ADHD

Objective: To examine relations between symptoms of ADHD and reports of marital and coparenting functioning. Method: Parents of 8- to 12-year-old boys with (n = 26) and without (n =38) ADHD participated. Results: Although mothers of children with ADHD had the highest levels of ADHD symptoms, their symptoms were typically not related to measures of the couples' functioning, particularly when controlling for family ADHD and comorbidities. Father ADHD symptoms were related to their reports of couple functioning, and fathers' ADHD symptoms were associated with their negative attributions for their wives' behavior, even with child and mother ADHD controlled. However, when fathers' depression and hostility symptoms were controlled, these were more important predictors of the attributions than ADHD symptoms. Conclusion: It is important to consider parental levels of ADHD symptoms in the context of other family members' symptoms as well as other forms of psychopathology.