Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Parent Expectations in the Treatment of Children with ADHD Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurs in roughly 5 to 7 percent of school-age children and has been identified as one of the most common reasons for referral to professionals who care for children's mental health, health, and educational needs (Barkley, 1996;Pelham & Waschbusch, 2004).According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association, 2000) key features of this disorder include persistent and dysfunctional levels of inattention and/or impulsivity-hyperactivity. Common symptoms of inattention include distractibility, difficulty completing and organizing tasks, forgetfulness, and problems maintaining attention.Symptoms characteristic of impulsivity include difficulty waiting turn and interrupting others, while hyperactive symptoms involve talking excessively, motor restlessness, and an inability to remain seated when expected to do so.Although there are a number of debates related to the diagnostic reliability of ADHD and questions related to the influence of genetic versus environmental factors that contribute to a formal diagnosis (see Biederman & Faraone, 2005 for review), there is general consensus that ADHD is a developmental disorder that has genetic and environmental influences.Although a number of treatment alternatives are available to parents of children diagnosed with ADHD (see Arnold, 1999;Arnold, 2002 for reviews), an extensive body of research has identified medication management and behavioral/psychosocial interventions as the only approaches with strong empirical support for efficacy and effectiveness (Biederman & Faraone, 2005;Pelham, Wheeler, & Chronis, 1998).The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued treatment guidelines for ADHD and strongly recommend a multimodal treatment approach coupling medication and behavioral interventions (2001; 2004).Information is still being gleaned from the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA, Arnold et al., 1997a; Arnold et al., 1997b; MTA Cooperative Group, 1999a;Richters, Arnold, Jensen, Abikoff, & et al., 1995), which is one of the largest NIMH funded research projects conducted to date.The MTA assessed the effectiveness of 4 treatment conditions, including 1) standardized, careful medication management only (Greenhill, Abikoff, Arnold, & Cantwell, 1996; Jensen,
Author: Donald A. Caserta
Institution: Kent State University
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2597582634