(PS6-82) Investigating the Effect of Parental Stress and a Psychoeducation Intervention on Negative Parental Attributions Among Parents of Children with ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity affecting about 6 million children in the United States between the ages of 3 and 17 (DSM-5; CDC). Compared to parents of typically developing children, parents of children with ADHD endorse higher levels of stress (Leitch et al., 2019; Flynn et al., 2023; Mash & Barkley, 2003). Parents who hold negative attributions blame their children for acting out and view their misbehavior as purposeful (Sawikar et al., 2019). Past research findings have proven that neurobiological explanations of mental illnesses can decrease attributions of blame (Kvaale et al., 2013; Kvaale et al., 2013). The present study examined the effects of a biogenetic-based psychoeducation video on negative parental attributions in a sample of 41 parents of children between 5 and 12 years old who had been diagnosed with ADHD within the past 12 months. They were randomly assigned to view a short psychoeducational video about ADHD that included neurobiological information about ADHD (experimental group, N=22), or a video about ADHD that excluded any mention of neurobiological mechanisms (control group, N=19). A significant positive correlation was found between parental stress and negative parental attributions at baseline, r= 0.73, p < 0.001. Two weeks after watching the video, we reassessed levels of negative parental attributions, stress, and ADHD knowledge. We performed a 2x2 ANOVA to evaluate the effect of time and group assignment on negative parental attributions, which concluded there were no significant group differences between levels of negative parental attributions before and after watching the video, F(1, 39) = 2.59, p = 0.14. These findings encourage us to continue investigating the effectiveness of other psychoeducation interventions to decrease negative parental attributions among parents of children with ADHD. Further analyses will investigate what factors are implicated in ADHD knowledge, parental stress, and negative parental attributions.