Parents of a child with ADHD should be tested for the condition themselves as soon as possible after their child's diagnosis, say University of Maryland researchers in a study published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The scientists found that parents of children with ADHD are more than 20 times more likely to have ADHD than parents whose children do not. If the children also have other serious behavioral problems, the parents' risk for psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse is five times greater. I guess that bumper sticker, "Insanity is contagious - you catch it from your kids" - is spot on.

Twenty times isn't bogus number crunching like most study results: that's a real difference. Whatever the cause, whether it's genetics, environment, or both, it's hard to understand how pathologizing the already troubled parents as soon as they find their kid has been given a life-long, ineradicable label, is going to make home life better.

I mean, should the whole family go on medication? What a nightmare.