Parent training effects on emotion recognition in mothers rearing children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A randomized controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Abstract

This randomized controlled study aimed to examine neurological changes in socioemotional processing skills through parent training in caregivers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Thirty mothers of children with ADHD were stratified into parental training and non-parental training groups. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed during the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ test, and parenting difficulties were evaluated using the Parenting Stress Index and Parenting Scale twice—before and after parental training. Parenting Stress Index and Parenting Scale scores significantly decreased after parental training. Activity in the left occipital fusiform gyrus increased during the task to estimate emotions from facial pictures, with decreased response time only seen after parental training. Therefore, brain activity changes and enhanced responses after parental training might reflect an increased sensitivity and responsivity to others’ mental state. The present results suggest that parental training promotes mothers’ understanding of problematic behavior in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which could help build a more nurturing environment, reduce parenting stress and a maladaptive parenting style, and improve the mother-child relationship.