[Family processes in attention and hyperactivity disorder]

The parenting behavior of mothers and interaction within the family were assessed by means of a multi-method procedure consisting of a questionnaire, sculpture test, behavior observation and the data of N = 36 subjects. Analyzed were the data of father, mother and child in six families, each with a boy aged 9 to 12 years who had been diagnosed as hyperactive on the basis of behavior checklists. A second group of six families served as paralleled controls. Mothers of hyperactive children more often report use of punishment as a means of influencing the behavior of their children. Independent observers confirm this, seeing that mothers of hyperactive children more frequently use negative and oppositional behavior and adverse consequences than do mothers of "normal" children. The interaction of father, mother and child in discussing a family conflict was characterized in the clinical group by more use of negative and less use of positive social behavior. Families with a hyperactive child more often attempted to interrupt each other and gave other members of the family less of an opportunity to exert an influence. Different instruments to assess the emotional cohesion and hierarchy within a family revealed significant differences between the two groups.