2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

The formation process of the Maternal Attachment in mothers of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20791740
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Lifelong developmental nursing
Research Institution	Ehime Prefectural University of Health Science
Principal Investigator	MANO Shoko Ehime Prefectural University of Health Science, 保健科学部・看護学科, 助教 (90347625)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2009
Keywords	注意欠陥多動性障害 / マターナルアタッチメント / 情動 / 半構造化面接
Research Abstract	The present research aimed to elucidate the developmental processes of maternal attachment in mothers of elementary school children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Semi-structured interviews were conduced on 12 mothers of children with ADHD. During interviews, mothers were asked about their parenting, their children's behavior, and their emotional experiences. Mothers experienced negative emotions and applied strict disciplinary practices in response to problem behaviors, whereas they felt positive emotions toward children when the children acted obedient or cute. These results indicated that mothers had ambivalent feelings toward children. Maternal attachment was most critical after children start elementary school because of increasing difficulties related to problem behavior. However, following the diagnosis of ADHD, the recognition of problem behaviors and parenting skills improved, thus enhancing maternal attachment. Because mothers could understand the cause of the problem behaviors, they studied methods for coping with the children's problem behaviors.