Imagine trying to focus on one television in a room of 1,000 televisions- all on a different channel; Or, maybe try being a cat with 500 laser pointers racing around you. This is how eleven percent of children from ages four to seventeen feel in the United States (CDC, 2017). What could be to blame?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD, is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as “a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairing levels of inattention, disorganization, and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity” (DSM-5, 2013, p. 75). Inattention is defined by the DSM-5 as the inadequacy to give close attention to detail, careless mistakes, not listening when being spoken to, the inability to organize, or being easily distracted by the things going on around them. Hyperactivity as well as impulsivity go on to be described as excessive fidgeting, the inability to sit still in a classroom- or workplace- setting, exorbitant talking, and interrupting others (DSM-5, 2013, p. 75). The severity can determine the route of treatment. A mild severity is defined as “having few (if any) symptoms in excess of those required for a diagnosis present, with symptoms resulting in no more than minor impairments in social or occupational functioning” (DMS-5, 201, p. 105). A severe case of ADHD can be seen as the symptoms being in superfluity than what is needed to be diagnosed. Compared to a mild severity, there is a crippling difference in social and occupational functioning (DSM-5, 2013, p. 106).
ADHD has become more and more popular amongst adolescents, with the parent report increasing forty-two percent from 2003 to 2011 (CDC, 2017). Parents play a very important role in detecting ADHD at the early stages, being front row to their child’s development. With an array of parenting styles, it is possible that different parents could detect symptoms of ADHD earlier than others, as well as have a different outcome on their journey through diagnosis and intervention.
In the 1960s, a psychologist by the name of Diana Baumrind condensed research dating back to the 1930s into three different parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive (Powers 2013, p 14-16). Baumrind reasoned her findings with parent interviews, as well as observations she made in homes and laboratories she made while watching preschool children by categorizing the children into three “different patterns of behavior: (1) Assertive, self-reliant, self-controlled, buoyant, and affiliative…; (2) discontented, withdrawn, and distrustful…; and (3) little self-control or self-reliance, and retreat from novelty” (Powers 2013, p 17). With those three categories of behavior observed in the preschool-aged children, she made the correlation between their behavior and parenting practices (Powers 2013, p 17). In a pre-existing child development study done by Skinner, Johnson, and Snyder, there were six dimensions identified to help categorize parenting styles: “warmth, rejection, autonomy, coercion, structure, and chaos” (Powers 2013, p 16). To further condense these dimensions, they were put into three groups: “warmth, control, and structure” (Powers 2013, p 16). From there, Baumrind formed the three parenting styles still used today by psychologists. Since then, four parenting styles have became popularized in the child-development world: authoritative, permissive, neglectful, and authoritarian.
Authoritative is seen as having a low warmth towards the child, but very high in structure regarding the rules and guidelines used in the household. In an authoritative parent’s eyes, a child must be seen, not heard. It can be further defined as the parents “attempt to mold and control the behavior and attitudes of their children according to a set of standards. They tend to emphasize obedience, respect for authority, and order.” (Glasgow, Dornbusch, Toryer, Steinberg & Ritter, 1997, p. 508). Mgbemere and Telles go on to call this form of parenting a strict style, where the parents rarely allow the children a say in much of anything (2013). Authoritarian parent almost heavily lean on punishment in order to obtain compliance from their children (Mgbemere & Telles 2013, para 15). Children that are raised in an authoritarian parenting environment can suffer from the following: “low self-esteem, being fearful or shy, associating obedience with love, having difficulty in social situations, and possibly misbehaving outside of parental care.” (Mgbemere & Telles 2013, para 17).
Permissive- also known as indulgent- parenting can be set out as being "more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). A permissive parent is seen as having low structure, but high warmth towards the child. Mgbemere et al. see this parenting style as harmful, because the parents attempt to steer clear of hostilities (2013). Parents are usually attempting to not duplicate their parent’s parenting style when adopting the permissive style as their own, or even trying to stay on their child’s good side (Mgbemere & Telles 2013, para 10). Mgbemere and Telles go on to describe the detrimental repercussions of the permissive parenting styles: “…insecurity in children from lack of set boundaries, poor social skills, such as sharing, from lack of discipline, self-centeredness, poor academic success from lack of motivation, clashing with authority.” (2013).
The neglectful parent can be said to be “low in both responsiveness and demandingness” (Darling, 1999, para. 7). A neglectful parent can be described as having both low warmth and low structure in the child’s life. This parenting style is easily reversible with education through a therapist or counselor (Mgbemere & Telles 2013, para 8). If not caught in time, it can cause irreversible damage, such as lack of trust, having a difficult time forming relationships with peers, as well as an unstable parent child relationship lacking a “trust foundation” (Mgbere & Telles 2013, para 9). It is very important to get help for the parent’s sake, as well as the child’s, before it is too late.
Nancy Darling (1999) describes the authoritarian style as providing well-ordered and structured environments as well as having a very clear set of rules and guidelines to follow (para. 6). The authoritarian style is seen as being high in both structure as well as warmth. The most promising parenting style could be seen as the authoritarian style because it “helps to foster a productive relationship between parent and child” (Mgbemere & Telles 2013, para 2). A very pivotal attribute of this parenting style is the forthcoming conveyance of communication the parents have with the child (Mgbemere & Teler 2013, para 5). Creating this type of environment will help the child to feel more comfortable, and as a result, the child will feel more comfortable exploring and having a mastery of the world around them (Mgbemere & Telles 2013, para 5). With the high structured rules as well as the high emotional availability, a child would have a great growing experience and be well taken care of by their parents.
Academic achievement has been one of the most noticeable cues from ADHD. This could be caused by the lack of detail and organization that this deficit can be defined by. Social cues are also another major key in detecting ADHD because of their inability to be attentive. By measuring a child’s behavior as well as measuring their academic success, their progress with ADHD on medication could be tracked. As stated in the DSM-5 (2013), neglect and child abuse can have an effect on ADHD in utero (p. 108). There could be belief that even during childhood, neglectful and permissive parenting styles can have a negative effect for children with ADHD. This study would show that parents with an authoritative parenting style would have the most positive effect on children with ADHD because of their high structure in raising their child(ren), in addition to their high warmth towards their child(ren). All other parenting styles- authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful- would have negative effects on their child(ren) with ADHD.