{"id":34256,"date":"2026-08-04T15:19:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T19:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/?p=34256"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:28:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T14:28:30","slug":"study-identifies-link-between-caregiver-child-relationship-adhd-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2026\/08\/study-identifies-link-between-caregiver-child-relationship-adhd-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Study identifies link between caregiver-child relationship, ADHD symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research from Oregon Health & Science University\u2019s\u00a0Center for Mental Health Innovation<\/a>\u00a0provides new evidence that the way caregivers interact with children when they\u2019re very young can protect against the negative effects of inflammation during pregnancy<\/strong>, including increased attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, symptoms in children.<\/p>\n

Existing research has linked increased maternal inflammation during pregnancy \u2014 caused by factors like infection, impaired metabolic state, smoking and stress \u2014 with increased risk for ADHD in children. However, few studies have examined how the postnatal environment, including parenting approaches, may modify these prenatal effects.<\/p>\n

The OHSU\u00a0study<\/a>, published today in the\u00a0Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry<\/em>, found that early sensitive caregiving \u2014 a term that describes the extent to which a caregiver notices, understands and responds to a child\u2019s non-verbal cues and emotional needs \u2014 appears to buffer children against these negative effects, reducing their risk for ADHD.<\/p>\n

OHSU\u2019s study is the first to examine whether gestational inflammation is related to a child\u2019s future ADHD presentation, and whether their symptoms could be mitigated by caregiving behaviors in early childhood.<\/p>\n

Data came from a prospective cohort of over 300 pregnant individuals and their offspring. The research team measured inflammation in blood plasma samples in the second trimester, a time in fetal brain development that is especially important for the development of ADHD risk factors. Parent-child interactions were then observed when children were six months old, and their ADHD symptoms were assessed at 36 months.<\/p>\n

The analysis of these data found that increased gestational inflammation was associated with child ADHD symptoms during the early preschool years, but only when children experienced lower than average levels of sensitive caregiving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that genetics play a role in ADHD, but what this research demonstrates is that the early environment is also an important factor,\u201d said lead author\u00a0Hanna Gustafsson, Ph.D.<\/strong>, associate professor of psychiatry in the OHSU School of Medicine. \u201cFetal brain development and risk for ADHD are influenced by the prenatal environment. Yet brain development doesn\u2019t stop when a child is born; it continues throughout life and can be molded by children\u2019s experiences, their family relationships, and their community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Results suggest that children at risk for ADHD may benefit from both prenatal interventions that decrease gestational inflammation and from postnatal interventions that support early caregiver-child relationships.<\/p>\n

Connection, engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

However, researchers emphasize that no single way of parenting is perfec<\/strong>t, and their research isn\u2019t intended to be prescriptive; rather, it offers tangible guidance to support child mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much pressure on new parents, yet societally we provide limited support and tools,\u201d said co-author\u00a0Elinor Sullivan, Ph.D.<\/strong>, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience in the OHSU School of Medicine. \u201cThis research demonstrates that small moments of engagement and emotional connection with your child can create a significant, lifelong impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sullivan said that evidence-based interventions that support responsive and engaged parent-child interactions already exist, but they need to be made more broadly available and better integrated into healthcare and social service infrastructure.<\/p>\n

These programs suggest that adjustments for parents can be simple: taking a few moments out of the day to actively engage with a child through play, reading and other shared activities, responding promptly\u00a0to children when they speak, speaking in a warm, calm tone of voice, and waving or smiling at the child.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking ahead, researchers will be examining interventions to reduce inflammation during pregnancy, including fatty acid supplementation and mindfulness practices. The team also highlighted that the Oregon Department of Human Services is working to provide relevant pregnancy and parenting resources to Oregonian caregivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no playbook for parenting,\u201d Gustafsson said. \u201cSupporting caregivers throughout the transition to parenthood will not only benefit children but also create healthier families and communities for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research from Oregon Health & Science University\u2019s\u00a0Center for Mental Health Innovation\u00a0provides new evidence that the way caregivers interact with children when they\u2019re very young can protect against the negative effects of inflammation during pregnancy, including increased attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, symptoms in children. Existing research has linked increased maternal inflammation during pregnancy \u2014 caused by… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[104,42,716,394,715],"class_list":["post-34256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adhd","tag-brain","tag-fetal","tag-inflammation","tag-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34256"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34258,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34256\/revisions\/34258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}