Does Pharmacological Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Adults Enhance Parenting Performance?

It is now well recognized that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic disorder of childhood that extends into adulthood for many individuals. A number of impairments in daily life functioning have been identified in adults with ADHD, including marital distress, risky driving, and using less effective parenting practices (e.g., Barkley, 2006). Specifically, some parents with ADHD have been found to use inconsistent discipline, less parental involvement, and less positive reinforcement with their children compared to parents without ADHD (e.g., Chen \& Johnston, 2007; Chronis-Tuscano, Clarke, Rooney, Diaz, \& Pian, 2008). While there is some evidence that stimulant medication improves parental functioning for adults with ADHD, only one study has specifically explored the use of stimulant medication and parenting(Chronis-Tuscano, Seymour, Stine, Jones, Jiles, Rooney, et al., 2008). The purpose of this study is to explore whether or not the stimulant medication, lisdexamfetamine, improves parent functioning. Measures of parenting behavior, parental psychosocial functioning, and child psychosocial functioning will be collected. It is hypothesized that lisdexamfetamine will be associated with some improvement in these assessments.