24 February 2003

Parents who have a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are needed for a University of Queensland study.

The study will look at the experiences of both mothers and fathers of children with ADHD and how they adjust to the stresses sometimes associated with parenting a child with the disorder.

“I want to gain a better understanding of what both mothers and fathers go through so that more support may be given to other parents who may not be adjusting as well to parenting a child with ADHD,” said Jennifer Lancaster from UQ’s School of Psychology, who is completing the research as part of her PhD.

Ms Lancaster said the study would involve participants having an individual open discussion with her about their experiences. The interviews will be held at UQ’s Psychology Clinic on weekends.

Both the mothers and fathers of the child with ADHD are required to participate in this research. Participants need to be the biological parents of the child, be living with the m and not have other children already diagnosed with ADHD. The child can be any age but must have had a primary diagnosis of ADHD in the past six months.

A free workshop focusing on parenting a child with ADHD will be provided to participants after all the interviews have been completed.

People interested in participating should contact Ms Lancaster by telephoning 07 3365 6858 or 0408 659 982 or by emailing j.lancaster@psy.uq.edu.au

Media: For further information, contact Ms Lancaster (telephone 07 3365 6858, mobile 0408 659 982 or email j.lancaster@psy.uq.edu.au) or Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619 or email communications@uq.edu.au).