Increased hair cortisol in mothers of children with ADHD symptoms and psychosocial adversity background

Parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have shown high perceived parenting stress. Hence, physiological adjustment processes, involving the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, seem possible. We hypothesized that (1) ADHD symptoms of the child predict an increase of maternal hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and (2) presence of psychosocial adversity amplifies the prediction. We analyzed a preschool-aged sample using a longitudinal design (T1, at the children’s age of 4 years; T2, 12 months later). 128 mothers and their children participated in the study. To determine HCC of the previous 3 months, the first scalp-near 3 cm hair segment was used. ADHD symptoms of the child were measured using teacher- and parent-report questionnaires and a clinical interview with the mother. The T1 teacher-reported ADHD symptoms score of the child was significantly positively associated with the mother`s T1 and T2 HCC score. In families with high psychosocial adversity, the prediction of an increase in maternal HCC by the teacher-reported ADHD symptoms of child was significantly stronger than in low-adversity families. In presence of psychosocial family adversity, ADHD symptoms of the child predicted an increase in the mother's HCC. As a continuously high cortisol level implicates health risks and might in turn affect parenting resources, the identifying of caregivers at risk through biological markers of stress could be helpful for planning targeted interventions. As our study is the first on this issue, cross-validation is needed.