Parent Mental Health and Engagement in Parenting Interventions for Child ADHD.

Higher parent self-reported ADHD symptoms at baseline were associated with lower home practice completion in the Parental Friendship Coaching (PFC) intervention.

• The study used a secondary data analysis of a randomized trial of 172 families of children with ADHD.
• Families were randomized to either PFC (a behavioral parent training program) or CARE (a parent psychoeducation and social support intervention).
• Home practice completion was a specific measure of treatment engagement assessed within PFC.
• This association was specific to PFC and was not mirrored in CARE.

Higher parent self-reported ADHD symptoms at baseline were associated with potentially greater perceived group social support in PFC.

• Perceived group social support was one of the engagement outcomes examined within PFC.
• The paper describes this association as 'potentially greater,' suggesting it was a trend or marginally significant finding.
• This finding suggests that parents with higher ADHD symptoms may have experienced the group format of PFC as more socially supportive.

Higher parent self-reported ADHD symptoms at baseline were associated with higher attendance in the CARE intervention.

• Attendance was a measure of treatment engagement assessed across both interventions.
• This positive association between parent ADHD symptoms and attendance was specific to CARE.
• The direction of this effect contrasts with the negative association between parent ADHD symptoms and home practice completion in PFC.

Parent depressive symptoms were not associated with engagement in either the PFC or CARE intervention.

• Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline as a parent mental health variable.
• This null finding applied to both treatment conditions (PFC and CARE).
• The absence of association with engagement contrasts with the pattern observed for parent ADHD symptoms.

Higher parent ADHD or depressive symptoms demonstrated few associations with parenting behavior treatment outcomes at post-treatment or 8-month follow-up.

• Parenting behavior treatment outcomes were assessed at both post-treatment and an 8-month follow-up timepoint.
• The observed effects on parenting outcomes were described as 'both positive and negative in PFC and CARE,' indicating no consistent directional pattern.
• Both interventions aimed to support parents to improve children's ADHD-related social impairments.
• The authors suggest that 'accessibility-focused adaptations to PFC and CARE reduced the impact of higher parent mental health symptoms on poorer engagement and parenting treatment outcomes.'

The sample had generally low levels of ADHD and depressive symptoms, which limited the ability to detect possible stronger associations.

• The study involved 172 families of children with ADHD.
• The authors explicitly note that 'the generally low levels of ADHD and depressive symptoms in the sample limit the ability to detect possible stronger associations.'
• This sample characteristic is identified as a key limitation of the secondary data analysis.
• The study was a secondary data analysis of a randomized trial not originally designed to test these specific questions about parent mental health.