Parental Stress and Parental Self-Efficacy in Mothers and Fathers of Intellectually Gifted/ADHD Children and Adolescents

Although scientific literature tends to suggest that intellectually gifted/attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children are particularly vulnerable to psychosocial and academic adjustment difficulties—factors contributing to parental stress—there has been no study specifically examining parental stress, and parental self-efficacy among their parents. This study aimed to further explore parental stress and self-efficacy among parents of intellectually gifted/ADHD children. Using a cross-sectional correlational design, 279 parents ( M age = 41.50; 71.32% mothers) from Quebec, Canada, of children ( n = 210; M age = 9.38; 57.20% boys) aged 6 to 16 years—with either intellectual giftedness ( n = 50), ADHD ( n = 61), both intellectual giftedness and ADHD ( n = 52), or neither ( n = 47)—completed self-report questionnaires assessing parental stress and parental self-efficacy. The findings revealed that the interaction between children’s intellectual giftedness and ADHD was associated with an increase in parental stress levels, whereas no such effect was observed for parental self-efficacy. Furthermore, parents of intellectually gifted/ADHD children reported higher levels of parental stress compared to parents of children without these conditions, which may be partly explained by lower levels of parental self-efficacy. Finally, the results suggested that the interaction between the child’s neurodevelopmental condition and the parent’s gender alleviated parental self-efficacy, particularly among mothers of intellectually gifted/ADHD children. This study highlights the clinical utility of considering parental self-efficacy as a key intervention point for supporting parents of intellectually gifted/ADHD children in managing their parental stress.