Like elsewhere, studies from developing countries suggest that parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) report significant stress. Besides symptoms, parental stress stems from experiences in interpersonal, schooling and societal domains, which may in turn be influenced by socio-cultural factors. This is a highly under-studied area.

Exploring experiences in familial, schooling and societal areas amongst Indian parents and understanding these in a cultural context using experiential qualitative research methodology.

In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with consenting parents of 27 children diagnosed with ADHD (17 mothers; 10 fathers).

All parents reported experiencing moderate to high degree of stress, feeling worried and frustrated due to child's problems. 19 parents reported being “short-tempered”, while 1 mother expressed feeling “lost”. Majority reported strained relations with spouse and extended family. Mothers reported higher stress, more difficulties in family life, faced criticism from immediate family and community regarding handling of child, felt more embarrassment, guilt and sense of failure as a mother. Half of the parents avoided attending social gatherings. Other than 2 parents, all had negative experiences with schooling. Experiential descriptions included those of teachers being highly critical of child and parents, punitive, dismissive and discriminatory. Teacher had advised seeking treatment in only 6 children. Themes of blame, discrimination and rejection were identified.

We conclude that cultural factors such as stigma, blaming of parent (especially mother) and lack of knowledge regarding ADHD amongst teachers and society may be responsible for these experiences and needs further investigation.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.