ABSTRACT

The parents' features of children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and co-occurrence of oppositional defiant disorder (ADHD/ODD) are evaluated and compared with each other.

Two groups of children and adolescents were included in this study; subjects with ADHD only (n=40) and ADHD/ODD (n=25), who were chosen from 93 subjects consecutively referred to a child and adolescent mental health clinic and diagnosed with ADHD according to the DSM-IV criteria. Each of the parents was asked to rate themselves for psychiatric symptoms by using the Symptom Check List 90-R, and their aggression were evaluated with İlter-Kiper Aggression Inventory.

The mothers of ADHD/ODD group had significantly higher rates of passive aggression when compared with those of ADHD only group. According to the SCL-90-R, the mothers of ADHD/ODD group were showed higher scores of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and interpersonal sensitivity than ADHD only group. Their fathers were higher scores of anxiety and rage than those of ADHD only group.

Our findings suggest that parent psychopathology and especially mother's passive aggression may be important to determine the co-occurrence of ODD with ADHD and may be used as a predictor of cooccurrence of ODD with ADHD.