Anxiety, Bully Victimization, and Parental Stress among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Date
2021-08-24
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Abstract
Research has shown that children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to have difficulties making and keeping friends (McQuade & Hoza, 2015), are more often the victim of bullying (Taylor et al., 2010), experience greater risk of co-occurring anxiety (Tannock, 2009), and have parents who report higher levels of parental stress than their typically developing (TD) peers (Theule et al., 2013). Inspired by Weiss et al.’s (2015) study that found the frequency of bully victimization was significantly related to anxiety among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that parental stress moderated this relationship, the current study aimed to investigate the relationships between bullying, anxiety, and parental stress for children with and without ADHD. The final sample included 49 children between the ages of eight and 13 years (ADHD: n = 31; TD: n = 18) and their parents. The present study confirmed that the parents of children with ADHD report significantly greater levels of parental stress than their TD counterparts. Additionally, bully victimization was found to be a significant predictor of anxiety for children with ADHD, while parental stress was found to significantly predict anxiety in TD children. Contrary to what was hypothesized, parental stress did not moderate this relationship for either ADHD or TD groups. Results from this study emphasize the need for bullying prevention and intervention targeted towards children with ADHD, and the importance of parental support for their families.
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Keywords
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Anxiety, Bully Victimization, Parental Stress, Children
Citation
Hartling, L. G. (2021). Anxiety, Bully Victimization, and Parental Stress among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.