Effectiveness of collaborative problem solving in affectively dysregulated children with oppositional-defiant disorder: initial findings.

Oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) refers to a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures. Research has shown that children with ODD and comorbid mood disorders may be at particular risk for long-term adverse outcomes, including conduct disorder. In this study, the authors examined the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral model of intervention--called collaborative problem solving (CPS)--in comparison with parent training (PT) in 47 affectively dysregulated children with ODD. Results indicate that CPS produced significant improvements across multiple domains of functioning at posttreatment and at 4-month follow-up. These improvements were in all instances equivalent, and in many instances superior, to the improvements produced by PT. Implications of these findings for further research on and treatment selection in children with ODD are discussed.

Correlates of comorbid psychopathology in children with ADHD.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate correlates of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in a clinical sample of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: Parent and teacher Child Behavior Checklists were administered to 300 children with ADHD to ascertain comorbid symptoms. Based on previous research, a seven-step hierarchical regression analysis was developed. Six hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with either parent or teacher Child Behavior Checklist aggression, delinquency, or anxious/depressive comorbid symptoms as dependent measures. RESULTS: Controlling for (1) variables known to increase risk for ADHD child psychopathology and (2) estimated duration of ADHD, our results suggest that the presence of comorbid symptoms is influenced by age of onset. An early age of onset of ADHD was correlated with a greater rate of parent-reported child aggressive symptoms, and a later age of onset was correlated with a greater rate of parent-reported child anxious/depressive symptoms. Elevated levels of comorbid externalizing and internalizing symptoms are associated with greater ADHD symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbid externalizing and internalizing symptoms are correlated with age of ADHD onset and are related to the severity of clinical presentation in a referred sample of children with ADHD.

Father involvement and self-reported parenting of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

This study examined the moderating effects of 4 variables on the relation between father involvement (FI) and self-reported parenting practices of 71 couples who have children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The variables were parents' love for their spouses, similarity in child-rearing views, traditional role identification, and paternal ADHD symptoms. These variables interacted with FI in predicting parenting practices. FI was associated with fathers' use of more effective discipline when fathers had no ADHD symptoms and reported more love for their wives but was associated with fathers' use of less effective discipline when fathers reported having ADHD symptoms, when they reported less love for their wives, and when they identified highly with traditional roles. For mothers, FI was associated with less effective discipline practices when couples' child-rearing views were dissimilar.