ADHD in Children
Visual Abstract
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Interaction between socioeconomic status and parental history of ADHD determines prevalence
ADHD: Socioeconomic status and parental history
Andrew S. Rowland, Betty J. Skipper, David L. Rabiner, Fares Qeadan, Richard A. Campbell, A. Jack Naftel, David M. Umbach
April 23, 2023
study source
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Aug 2017
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What they studied
This study examined the relationship between ADHD, socioeconomic status, and genetics.
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What they found
Researchers found that low income and having a parent with ADHD increased the risk of whether a child develops ADHD themselves.
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Link between income and genetics
Income only played a significant role in ADHD risk if parents did not have ADHD.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Interaction between socioeconomic status and parental history of ADHD determines prevalence
Background
This study examined the relationship between ADHD, socioeconomic status, and genetics.
Previous studies have reported a link between socioeconomic status and ADHD. Children who grow up in challenging environments are likelier to have ADHD.
However, it’s unknown how the relationship between socioeconomic status and ADHD interacts with genetic risk factors.
Study Quote
Many studies have reported a higher prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among disadvantaged populations, but few have considered how parental history of ADHD might modify that relationship. We evaluated whether the prevalence of ADHD varies by socioeconomic stat...
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Methods
Researchers screened all children in a single North Carolinian county for ADHD, using interviews with parents and information from their teachers.
In the end, there were 962 students included in the study.
They gathered information on their ADHD status, the parents’ ADHD status, and household socioeconomic status.
Study Quote
We screened all children in grades 1–5 in 17 schools in one North Carolina (U.S.) county for ADHD using teacher rating scales and 1,160 parent interviews, including an ADHD structured interview (DISC). We combined parent and teacher ratings to determine DSM-IV ADHD status. Data analysis ...
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Results
In a study on household and parental risk factors in ADHD, researchers found that kids growing up in low-income families where parents didn’t graduate from high school and homes with parents who had ADHD themselves had a much higher risk of developing ADHD.
As expected, researchers found significant links between income and ADHD risk. Children in low-income households had nearly four times the risk of developing ADHD.
Children with parents with ADHD also had a much higher risk of developing ADHD.
One new finding in the study was the link between income, parental ADHD, and ADHD risk.
Researchers found that income significantly affected whether a child develops ADHD if the child had parents without ADHD. Among children whose parents do not have ADHD, those from low-income families had around six times the risk of developing ADHD compared to higher-income families.
Income only plays a significant role in ADHD risk if neither of the parents have ADHD.
Meanwhile, in families where the parents have a history of ADHD, income was not a significant factor in ADHD risk.
Study Quote
We found an interaction between family income and parental history of ADHD diagnosis (p = .016). The SES gradient was stronger in families without a parental history and weaker among children with a parental history. Among children without a parental history of ADHD diagnosis, low income...
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Conclusions
Based on the data, researchers concluded that the presence of ADHD in parents and household income are both significant risk factors in whether a child develops ADHD.
Both of these findings are consistent with previous studies.
What was unexpected was the interaction between socioeconomic status and parental ADHD status. We don’t exactly know why this is the case.
The authors of the study provided a reasonable interpretation of this phenomenon. Children whose parents have ADHD are vulnerable to ADHD, regardless of socioeconomic status, because of genetics and upbringing.
Socioeconomic status plays a more significant role in children, who do not have these genetic risk factors.
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What does this mean? One interpretation, though speculative, is that environmental and genetic risk factors work differently. Among children without a strong genetic vulnerability, environmental risk factors become important; however, among children with a substantial genetic vulnerability, the impact of environmental risk factors becomes less important.
Study Quote
Socioeconomic status and parental history of ADHD are each strong risk factors for ADHD that interact to determine prevalence. More research is needed to dissect the components of SES that contribute to risk of ADHD. Future ADHD research should evaluate whether the strength of other envi...
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