Family Process Variables and Children's Disruptive Behavior Problems

Abstract

Marital, parent-child, and family-level processes were examined for 4 groups of 7-to 11-year-old boys and their families: boys with no behavioral problems (control), boys with behavioral problems consistent with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), boys with behavioral problems consistent with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and boys with behavioral problems consistent with ADHD and ODD. A discriminant analysis that used marital and family factors alone was able to correctly classify families into one of the 4 behavior problem groups with nearly 90% accuracy. The combination of parental commands and parental coercion separated the control group from the 3 clinical groups, but it was the combination of family cohesiveness and responsive and consistent parenting that best distinguished the 3 clinical groups from one another.