Latent class structure of caregiver strain in parents of children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The role of race/Ethnicity and gender

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobehavioral disorder among school-age children. Children diagnosed with disabilities such as ADHD are often associated with disruptions in family functioning and increased levels of caregiver strain. Parenting of children with ADHD varies with gender and race/ethnicity; however, little work has investigated any differential impact that these and other factors can have on the amount of stress reported by parents of children with ADHD.

Methods: Data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health was used to examine caregiver strain among parents of children diagnosed with ADHD. Latent Class Analysis was used to identify risk profiles related to caregiver strain among parents of children with ADHD. LCA is a statistical technique used to identify subgroups of individuals who share a similar pattern of responses to a set of observed items. Latent class analysis with covariates was then used to identify variations in parent associations to each of the latent classes based on race/Ethnicity, child gender, and SES.

Results: Among the 6,513 children with ADHD, 75.3% were white, 10.3% African-American, and 14.4% Hispanic and 51% were boys. The analysis revealed four unique classes of caregiver strain within the population; high strain (19.6%), moderate-high strain (40.0%), moderate-low strain (16.4%), and low strain (24.0%). Latent class structured differed by race/ethnicity; 25.4% of blacks were in the low strain class versus 21.3% whites and 19.8% Hispanics.

Conclusions: Our results assist in tailoring interventions based on the proportions of parents in different caregiver strain classes.