Parental Emotion Regulation and Parental Mentalization in Families of Children with ADHD

Rationale: Developmental studies have demonstrated the role of parental emotion regulation (ER) and parental mentalization as moderators of the relationship between the parent’s experience of stress and the parent’s disciplinary and emotional response. In families of children with ADHD, this relationship may be of particular importance as parents often report on elevated stress level and the implications of hostile and coercive parenting is considered a major risk factor for symptom exacerbation. Objective: Examine the role of parental ER and mentalization in families of children with ADHD in relation to coercive and hostile parenting. Methods: Seventy-four Israeli families (64 mothers and 48 fathers) seeking parent training for child ADHD completed measures during the intake session. Measures included parental ER; parental mentalization; hostile, coercive and submissive parenting; and child symptoms. Results: A multilevel modeling approach yielded three main findings. 1. Parental ER accounted for significant variance in parents’ coercive behaviors beyond child symptoms severity and beyond the parents’ capacity for mentalization. 2. Child age and child symptoms severity accounted for significant variance in the level of parenting negative feelings. 3. The relationship between parental ER and parental negative feelings was moderated by the parents’ level of mentalization. Conclusions: Study findings highlight the importance of evaluating and addressing parental ER in interventions attempting to reduce coercive parent child dynamics. Findings also highlight the potential role of parental mentalization as a possible protective mechanism against hostile parenting in families of children with ADHD.