Attributions for child behavior in parents of children without behavior disorders and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attributions for and reactions to inattentive-overactive, oppositional-defiant, and prosocial child behaviors were compared in 52 parents of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 42 parents of children without behavior disorders. Parent attributions and reactions elicited using written descriptions of child behavior, behaviors the parent recalled his or her own child displaying, and videotaped clips of the parent's own child's behavior all revealed a similar pattern. Compared with parents of children without behavior disorders, parents of children with ADHD saw inattentive-overactive and oppositional-defiant behaviors as more internally caused, less controllable by the child, and more stable; and they had more negative reactions to such behaviors. For prosocial child behaviors, parents of children with ADHD rated the causes as less internal and less stable than control parents did.