Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

There is a considerable gap between children diagnosed with ADHD and those who receive treatment. Previous research has suggested that this gap is impacted by obstacles to treatment, sociodemographic and cultural factors, and parent cognitive factors. Research focused on parent cognitive factors has found that both parent attributions of child behavior and parent knowledge of ADHD are associated with help seeking more broadly and with interest in specific types of interventions. However, a majority of research in this area has focused on parents of children who have already received an ADHD diagnosis and accessed treatment. The present study examined the impact of reported obstacles to treatment, parent attributions, and parent knowledge of ADHD in predicting interest in help seeking overall as well as interest in medication and informal services. This study aimed to add to the literature by examining the potential moderating influence of ADHD knowledge on the relationship between parent attributions and interest in help seeking. Participants included 84 parents and caregivers of children ages 5-12 referred for an ADHD evaluation. Contrary to predictions and previous research, the number of reported obstacles was not associated with help seeking interest however reported family income was associated with all types of help seeking. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that parent attributions and ADHD knowledge are significant predictors of interest in help seeking. Specifically, parent attributions of child control predicted interest in medication, however, this was in the opposite direction as predicted. Greater perceptions of child control were associated with increased interest in medication interventions. This relationship was moderated by ADHD knowledge such that attributions were less important under conditions of greater ADHD knowledge, and more important when parents had less knowledge of ADHD. As predicted, parent attributions of greater stability and ADHD knowledge were both significant individual predictors of interest in informal services. The interaction between stability attributions and ADHD knowledge was not significant. Results highlight the importance of understanding parent cognitive factors as they play an important role in parent interest in help seeking. Results suggest it is particularly important to provide parents with accurate knowledge of ADHD and its treatment in order to empower parents to have the information they need to advocate for their childs needs.

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