Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Associations Between Family and Community Protective Factors and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Outcomes
Carol Duh-Leong1,2, Anne Fuller1,3, Nicole M Brown1
1Division of Academic General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY.
Insights
Family cohesion and community support significantly improve outcomes for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These factors reduce ADHD severity and social difficulties while boosting school engagement.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Family Studies
Background:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with various risk factors impacting severity.
- Protective factors for clinical, academic, and social outcomes in children with ADHD are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between family cohesion, caregiver social support, and community support.
- To examine the impact of these factors on ADHD severity, school engagement, and social difficulties in children with ADHD.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study utilizing data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health.
- Logistic regression models analyzed associations between independent variables (family cohesion, social support, community support) and outcome variables (ADHD severity, school engagement, social difficulties).
- Analyses adjusted for child and parent sociodemographic characteristics.
Main Results:
- Family cohesion and community support were linked to lower odds of moderate to severe ADHD.
- Both factors were associated with higher odds of school engagement.
- Family cohesion and community support correlated with reduced difficulty in making and keeping friends.
Conclusions:
- Family cohesion and community support demonstrate protective effects on clinical, academic, and social outcomes for children with ADHD.
- Identifying family and community strengths is crucial for developing effective multimodal treatment strategies for ADHD.
Background:
Evidence has established the association between risk factors and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) severity, but less is known about factors that may have protective effects on clinical, academic, and social outcomes among children with ADHD.
Objective:
To examine associations between family cohesion, caregiver social support, community support, and (1) ADHD severity, (2) school engagement, and (3) difficulty making or keeping friends.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study of school-aged and adolescent children with ADHD using data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health. Our outcomes were (1) parent-rated ADHD severity, (2) school engagement, and (3) difficulty making or keeping friends. Our independent variables were (1) family cohesion, (2) caregiver social support, and (3) community support. We used logistic regression models to examine associations between our independent variables and each of our outcome variables, adjusting for child and parent sociodemographic characteristics.
Results:
In our sample (N = 4,122, weighted N = 4,734,322), children exposed to family cohesion and community support had lower odds of moderate to severe ADHD [adjusted OR (aOR): 0.73 (0.55-0.97); aOR: 0.73 (0.56-0.95), respectively], higher odds of school engagement [aOR: 1.72, (1.25-2.37); aOR: 1.38, (1.04-1.84), respectively], and lower odds of difficulty making or keeping friends [aOR: 0.64, (0.48-0.85); aOR: 0.52, (0.40-0.67), respectively].
Conclusion:
Among children with ADHD, family cohesion and community support show protective effects in clinical, academic, and social outcomes. Systematically identifying family- and community-level strengths may be important components of multimodal treatment strategies in children with ADHD.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings....
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
08:25Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
13:08Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
10:02Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
09:13Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder