Assessing Stress in Families of Children with ADHD: Preliminary Development of the Disruptive Behavior Stress Inventory (DBSI)

This paper describes the initial development of the Disruptive Behavior Stress Inventory (DBSI). This 40-item measure, which provides indices of the number of stressors experienced during the past 6 months and the rated stressfulness of these events, is designed to assess behavior-related family stress experienced by families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Findings provide strong support for the internal consistency of the DBSI and suggest adequate test-retest reliability. Support for the validity of the measure is suggested by findings that DBSI stress indices differentiate between parents of children with ADHD and those with no history of this disorder. Additional support is provided by findings that scores on the DBSI also differentiate between parents of children with ADHD, combined type and parents of children with ADHD, inattentive type. It is suggested that this measure may provide useful clinical information regarding stress levels in families of children with ADHD and that it may be of potential value as an ADHD treatment outcome measure.