Structural model design of the Severity of child’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder based on Family Functioning and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Marital Satisfaction in Mothers

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is originally a behavioral disorder that begins in childhood and could continue into adolescence and even middle age if appropriate therapies are not used. The aim of the present research was to design a structural model of the severity of a child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder based on family functioning and mother-child interaction with the mediating role of marital satisfaction in mothers dwelling in Tehran. In this survey, the statistical population consists of hyperactive male children along with their mothers in Tehran in 2021, among them 212 people were selected through purposive sampling method. The research tools are McMaster Epstein et al. (1978) family functioning questionnaires, Dragatis and Ziklzorak's mental health (1973), Connor, Arhad, and Sparrow's severity of attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (1999), and Enrich's marital satisfaction from Olson, Fornier, and Derakman (1987). The proposed model was evaluated using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that all direct paths were significant (P> 0.05), except family functioning path to severity of child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In addition, indirect paths of family functioning with the severity of child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with the mediating role of marital satisfaction (P< 0/01), and also, mental health with the severity of child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with the mediating role of marital satisfaction (P< 0/01), were significant. According to the results, the proposed model benefited from having a good model fit and has taken an important step towards understanding the factors affecting the severity of attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in children.