Parental ADHD Symptomatology and How it Relates to the Parent-Child Relationship and to Social Skills Acquisition in Children

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between parental Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as related to parent/child relationships and the child’s acquisition of social skills. An extensive literature review revealed no research directly related to the question of the effect of ADHD behaviors as they relate to parenting skills and development of social skills in the children of parents who may present with higher levels of ADHD symptoms. Subjects were forty-seven parents and their biological children. Parents completed the Conner’s Ad\ilt ADHD Rating Scale-Self-Report: Lx)ng (CAARS-S:L), the Parenting Relationship Questionnaire - Child and Adolescent (PRQ-CA) and a demographic questionnaire. Participating children completed the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Findings of this study suggested that there was a significant relationship between a child’s social skills development and the adult’s parenting skills, which proved to be more influential than the level of ADHD related behaviors that the parent may endorse