Divorce and ADHD Medications
Over the years, I've answered many posts from concerned parents (or stepparents) regarding their child being started on an ADHD medication by the divorced spouse. Frequently, it's the stepmother who complains that the child has been started on a medication by the mother, often implying that the mother is lacking in parenting skills (that of course the stepmother possesses) and is therefore inappropriately using medication to control normal child behavior. Since the child behaves perfectly well when visiting the stepmother and father, and since they don't have any problems with him, the mother must not be a fit parent.
Now there is a study that indicates that divorce might be a predictor of the use of ADHD medications. Lisa Strohschein from the University of Alberta analyzed the data from a longitudinal study (1994 - 2000) of 4,784 children, and of these children, 633 from 521 intact households experienced divorce while in the study. She found that methylphenidate (Ritalin) use was significantly higher among children (especially boys) whose parents divorced.
So why might the use of ADD medications increase after divorce? Strohschein feels that the stress of the divorce might increase a child's problem behaviors. Since ADHD is largely genetic (inherited), the parent's ADHD symptoms might have been a causal factor for the divorce. An increase in behavior problems related to the stress of the divorce might mean that the child is seen by a mental health worker, increasing the chances of also being diagnosed with ADHD.
I believe that it's very difficult being the single parent of a child with symptoms of ADHD, especially a single mother trying to parent a hyperactive, impulsive, and sometimes oppositional boy. It's far easier when two parents are working together on behavioral management, giving each other needed support.
Single mothers often have to work all day, then try to manage the hundreds of daily living tasks as well as the children, often with little support from others, and sometimes negative criticism from the other biological parent. Asking and seeking help from others, which might mean that the child is diagnosed with ADHD, seems to be a reasonable thing to do.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: ADHD, ADD, medications, Ritalin, divorce, parenting, health and wellness
Now there is a study that indicates that divorce might be a predictor of the use of ADHD medications. Lisa Strohschein from the University of Alberta analyzed the data from a longitudinal study (1994 - 2000) of 4,784 children, and of these children, 633 from 521 intact households experienced divorce while in the study. She found that methylphenidate (Ritalin) use was significantly higher among children (especially boys) whose parents divorced.
So why might the use of ADD medications increase after divorce? Strohschein feels that the stress of the divorce might increase a child's problem behaviors. Since ADHD is largely genetic (inherited), the parent's ADHD symptoms might have been a causal factor for the divorce. An increase in behavior problems related to the stress of the divorce might mean that the child is seen by a mental health worker, increasing the chances of also being diagnosed with ADHD.
I believe that it's very difficult being the single parent of a child with symptoms of ADHD, especially a single mother trying to parent a hyperactive, impulsive, and sometimes oppositional boy. It's far easier when two parents are working together on behavioral management, giving each other needed support.
Single mothers often have to work all day, then try to manage the hundreds of daily living tasks as well as the children, often with little support from others, and sometimes negative criticism from the other biological parent. Asking and seeking help from others, which might mean that the child is diagnosed with ADHD, seems to be a reasonable thing to do.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: ADHD, ADD, medications, Ritalin, divorce, parenting, health and wellness
