The Relationship Between Parental Self-Efficacy, Child Inattentive and Hyperactive/Impulsive Symptoms and Early School Functioning

Abstract

As early as school-entry, children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face academic disadvantage and are at risk for cumulative and long-term academic difficulties. It is important to identify factors that contribute to better school functioning in these at-risk children, particularly during the foundational academic years, in order to inform early prevention and intervention efforts. Theory and research highlight the important role of parents in children’s overall early academic functioning. The current line of research examined parents’ belief in their ability to help their child learn, i.e., self-efficacy, as a relevant and potentially robust and malleable correlate to children’s early academic functioning. Chapter 1 outlines self-efficacy theory and previous research on parental self-efficacy and child outcomes to provide rationale for this proposed relationship. Next, the two studies in this line of research are presented. Study 1 (Chapter 2) examines the relationship of parental self-efficacy, when considered alongside child inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, to kindergarten teacher ratings of children’s academic enabler skills. Study 2 (Chapter 3) examines the relationship of parental self-efficacy and child inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms to parental involvement and the quality of the parent-teacher relationship in kindergarten. Chapter 4 discusses implications of findings in terms of the potential multi-system level benefit of having a parent that believes in their capacity to help their child learn as their child transitions into school. Finding suggest that inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms are negatively related to parental self-efficacy in this young, non-clinical sample. Findings also suggest that parental self-efficacy, when considered along with child inattentive or hyperactive/impulsive symptoms contributes to variance in some indicators of early school functioning (e.g., academic enablers, home-based parental involvement, perceived quality of the parent-teacher relationship). Limitations and future directions are also discussed.