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.
Article comments
1 - Hal Pawluk
The study also doesn't mean that the parents have ADHD now, just that one of the parents (the mother) said (note: said) that one of the parents had had it as a child:
2 - charmayne
i have trackbacked to your post, i think other psych students could get a lot from what you have to say