Family and Contextual Factors That Predict the Development Course of ADHD-Related Behaviors in Early and Middle Childhood
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Bray, Brandon A
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 29, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Karen Bierman, Major Field Member
Jenae Neiderhiser, Major Field Member
Carlomagno Panlilio, Outside Unit & Field Member
Cynthia Huang-Pollock, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Kristin Buss (she/her), Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- ADHD
School-Risk
Elementary Age
Mixed Effects Model
Trajectory - Abstract:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-related research has identified specific parenting and family factors that predict more adaptive outcomes. However, less remains known about the impact of contextual risk factors on the development of ADHD-related behaviors. This study used mixed effects modeling in a sample of ethnically diverse children from families living in poverty in the REDI and REDI-P studies who were followed from preschool to third grade to examine how contextual and family-level factors affect the frequency of ADHD-related behaviors as rated by teachers when children enter Kindergarten and how they change over time. Results at the family-level found that higher hostile parenting, lower parental educational involvement, and parents’ own learning history significantly predicted more frequent ADHD-related child behaviors at Kindergarten entry; however, this pattern did not hold over time. School context-level risk factors and race-related adversity predicted differences in ADHD-related behaviors over time. Children of color and children in higher risk schools started school with teachers reporting less frequent ADHD-related behaviors, but those behaviors increased in frequency over time. In contrast, White children and children in lower risk schools started with teachers reporting more frequent ADHD-related behaviors, which decreased over time. These findings illuminate how studying the development of ADHD-related behaviors at both the family level and the broader contextual level help to improve our understanding of this neurodevelopmental disorder.