Mediating Effect of Sibling Warmth on Parental Stress in Families with Children Who Have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Using family stress theory, the influences of parenting daily hassles, family coping, sibling warmth, parenting stress, and sense of coherence were examined for their predictive qualities in determining quality of life for mothers of children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A predictive model was developed using the ABC-X model of family stress. A survey design was used with a sample of 103 mothers. The analysis was conducted using path analysis. For the participants in this study, sense of coherence had the greatest total effect on quality of life, followed by family coping, and parenting stress. Sibling warmth was not found to have a direct relationship with quality of life, but did have an overall effect when mediated by sense of coherence and parenting stress. Overall, this model fit well with the observed data and thus supported the research question for this study; specifically, parenting daily hassles, family coping, sibling warmth, parenting stress, and sense of coherence can be integrated to predict quality of life for mothers of children who have ADHD. This model explained 19% of the variance in quality of life. Pertinent related findings were also discussed relevant to commonly used coping strategies, most frequent and intense parenting daily hassles, and top factors in the sibling relationship. Mothers in the study used passive coping strategies most often in dealing with stressors, and employed more internal coping methods than external coping methods. Mothers were most concerned with and wanted the most help in dealing with arguments, anger, and hostility in the sibling relationship. An exploration of the qualitative parental responses revealed difficulties in accessing support systems. Parents expressed a lack of understanding of ADHD by schools and communities. Suggestions for future research and professional practice were also provided.