ADHD: The Family Tree

Parents of kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are 24 times as likely to suffer from the disorder themselves as are parents of children without the disorder, according to a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Parents whose children had both ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder were found more likely to have mood, anxiety and substance-abuse disorders than other parents. Living with kids who have ADHD can exacerbate a parent's own problems and vice versa, says Andrea Chronis, a psychologist at the University of Maryland.