Assessing ADHD-related Family Stressors with the Disruptive Behavior Stress Inventory (DBSI): A Replication and Extension

Abstract

The Disruptive Behavior Stress Inventory (DBSI) was developed to provide information related to the occurrence and severity of stressors that result from having a child with ADHD. Data provided in the initial 2002 study by Johnson and Reader (Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 9, 51–62) provided good preliminary support for the reliability of the DBSI, as well the ability of the scale scores to differentiate primary caregivers of children with and without a history of ADHD. The present study was an attempt to replicate major findings of the 2002 study using an additional larger sample and extend it by conducting item-level analyses to determine the degree to which individual DBSI items differentiate primary caregivers of children with and without a history of ADHD. Results provided additional support for the reliability and validity of the DBSI by replicating major findings from the 2002 study and further suggesting that a large majority of the 40 items individually differentiate between primary caregivers of children with and without a history of ADHD.

Appendix

Disruptive Behavior Stress Inventory (DBSI)

Listed below are a range of potential stressors that are sometimes experienced as a result of having a child who displays behavioral difficulties. Read each of the following items carefully and indicate those situations you have experienced as a result of your child’s behavior during the past six months. Circle “Yes” if you have experienced what is described in the item. Circle “No” if you have not. For each item where you circled “Yes”, indicate on the following 4 point scale the extent to which it is stressful to you: 0 (Not at all Stressful); 1 (Somewhat Stressful); 2 (Moderately Stressful); 3 (Very Stressful). Please be sure to respond to each item.

		Experienced event?		Not at all stressful	Somewhat stressful	Moderately stressful	Very stressful
1	Not being able to leave your child with a baby-sitter	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
2	Not being able to go out to eat because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
3	Being interrupted by your child when trying to take care of other children	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
4	Having to miss or leave church because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
5	Dealing with teachers’ complaints about your child	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
6	Difficulties finding professional services for your child	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
7	Having to miss work because of your child’s problems	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
8	Not being able to take your child shopping because of his/her behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
9	Not able to spend enough time with your other children	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
10	Dealing with your child’s academic difficulties	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
11	Difficulties dealing with your child’s doctors	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
12	Difficulties getting your child to appointments with various professionals	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
13	Spending an excessive amount of time helping your child with homework	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
14	Not having enough time for yourself because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
15	Having to explain your child’s behavior to others	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
16	Difficulties getting school-based services for your child	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
17	Not knowing how to deal with your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
18	Disagreements with spouse about managing your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
19	Problems paying for services your child needs	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
20	Dealing with your child’s conflicts with other children	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
21	Calls from school regarding your child’s behavior problems	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
22	Having to watch your child so he/she doesn’t get into trouble	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
23	Dealing with complaints from other parents about your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
24	Having to miss important social events because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
25	Not being able to get to bed at a decent hour because of child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
26	Dealing with complaints from neighbors about your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
27	Being concerned about your child being injured	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
28	Not getting work done at home because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
29	Other people telling you how to parent your child	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
30	Problems related to medication side effects (i.e., drowsiness, headaches, etc.)	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
31	Not knowing how to explain your child’s behavior to others	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
32	Not being able to work outside home because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
33	Conflicts with your child over homework	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
34	Calls from school regarding your child’s academic problems	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
35	Getting complaints from school bus driver	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
36	Having less time with partner because of your child’s behavior	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
37	Not getting support from others in dealing with your child’s problems	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
38	Being unable to take your child to public places	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
39	Difficulties finding adequate after school placement for your child	Yes	No	0	1	2	3
40	Having your child embarrass you in front of others	Yes	No	0	1	2	3

1. Copyright© 2001 James H. Johnson & Steven K. Reader. All rights reserved