Hyperactive and normal girls and boys: mother-child interaction, parent psychiatric status and child psychopathology.

This study compared hyperactive and normal girls and boys on their mother-child interactions, family psychiatric status and ratings on the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). Hyperactive children were less compliant and more negative, and their mothers responded more negatively to their compliance than mothers of normal children. Mothers of hyperactive children reported more depression, marital discord and psychiatric problems in their relatives, and rated their children more deviant on 15 of 16 PIC scales than normal children. Hyperactive boys received more direction and praise, and had greater maternal concern about their adjustment than hyperactive girls or normal children.