Objective. The back-to-school stress survey was designed to compare stress in parents of children/adolescents with/without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in six European countries and Canada when children prepare to return to school. Methods. Parents of children/adolescents (6-17 years) with/without ADHD were recruited and interviewed by a consumer research organization. Parents rated potentially stress-causing situations (both standard and specifically related to the return to school) on a scale from 1 (low stress) to 10 (high stress). Mean scores were compared using Student's t-test. Results. In Europe, 613/693 (mean [SD] age: 40.7 [7.0]/40.1 [6.9] years) and in Canada, 102/150 (mean [SD] age: 44.4 [8.1]/44.1 [7.2] years) parents of children with/without ADHD, respectively, participated in the survey. Children with ADHD (mean [SD] age: 11.2 [3.2]/12.6 [3.2] years in Europe/Canada) had generally similar characteristics in both samples. Parents in the ADHD group showed higher stress levels than parents in the non-ADHD group in all situations (p < 0.001 for Europe). The return to school was considered one of the most stressful events during the year. Conclusions. In Europe and Canada, ADHD has a significant impact on parental stress, particularly during the back-to-school period. This can have important implications as parental stress can affect presentation of ADHD symptoms.

Stress levels experienced by parents of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder during the back-to-school period: results of a European and Canadian survey

GAGLIANO, Antonella;
2014-01-01

Abstract

Objective. The back-to-school stress survey was designed to compare stress in parents of children/adolescents with/without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in six European countries and Canada when children prepare to return to school. Methods. Parents of children/adolescents (6-17 years) with/without ADHD were recruited and interviewed by a consumer research organization. Parents rated potentially stress-causing situations (both standard and specifically related to the return to school) on a scale from 1 (low stress) to 10 (high stress). Mean scores were compared using Student's t-test. Results. In Europe, 613/693 (mean [SD] age: 40.7 [7.0]/40.1 [6.9] years) and in Canada, 102/150 (mean [SD] age: 44.4 [8.1]/44.1 [7.2] years) parents of children with/without ADHD, respectively, participated in the survey. Children with ADHD (mean [SD] age: 11.2 [3.2]/12.6 [3.2] years in Europe/Canada) had generally similar characteristics in both samples. Parents in the ADHD group showed higher stress levels than parents in the non-ADHD group in all situations (p < 0.001 for Europe). The return to school was considered one of the most stressful events during the year. Conclusions. In Europe and Canada, ADHD has a significant impact on parental stress, particularly during the back-to-school period. This can have important implications as parental stress can affect presentation of ADHD symptoms.
2014
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/2827168
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