We identify two promising directions in which SST may be modified to make it more efficacious for ADHD populations. The first direction involves providing increased reinforcement and reminders of appropriate social behavior at the point of performance to youth with ADHD (e.g., in vivo, in real life peer situations as opposed to in the clinic). We note the importance of ensuring that youth with ADHD are receptive to such reminders. The second direction involves encouraging peers to be more socially accepting and inclusive of youth with ADHD. This avenue has been understudied in the literature to date. SST for children and adolescents with ADHD may be enhanced by providing more in vivo reminders and feedback at the point of performance and by making efforts to alter peers' impressions about youth with ADHD.

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Objective: This study evaluated a novel intervention for friendship problems in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Parental Friendship Coaching (PFC) teaches parents to coach their children in targeted friendship behaviors that are lacking in children with ADHD and that help children develop good quality friendships. Method: Participants were 172 families of children with ADHD and social impairment (ages 6–11; 29.7% female) at two Canadian sites, randomized to PFC or to an active comparison intervention (Coping with ADHD through Relationships and Education; CARE) to control for common therapy factors. Questionnaire and observational measures assessing primary outcomes of children’s friendship quality and secondary outcomes of children’s friendship behaviors were collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 8-month follow-up. Results: Across both treatment conditions, children showed improvements in positive friendship quality and in friendship behaviors. Relative to CARE, PFC was associated with somewhat more positive and less negative friendship behaviors at posttreatment and follow-up, but no difference between conditions was found in friendship quality. However, moderation analyses suggested that PFC may contribute to better friendship quality among families who had previous psychosocial treatment, as well as children with comorbid externalizing disorders. Conclusions: Although PFC showed some efficacy for affecting children’s friendship behaviors, these changes may not translate into friendship quality. Nevertheless, PFC may improve friendship quality for at-risk subgroups of children with ADHD.

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Elementary school teachers often implement classroom behavioral management systems to address student misbehavior. Common problems targeted by these systems are the inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors characteristic of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined teachers' attributions for why children display ADHD behaviors, and how such attributions affect their experiences with children in the context of interventions to manage these behaviors. Participants were 32 preservice teachers undertaking a practicum in a summer program for 137 children (Grades 1–3), some of whom had ADHD. Teachers were trained to implement classroom‐wide behavioral management. Teachers' attributions for children's ADHD behaviors were assessed using a vignette measure, before teachers had met their students or begun training on intervention techniques. When controlling for attributions regarding oppositional behavior, teachers' initial attributions for ADHD behaviors as less internal/controllable predicted children reporting more positive relationships with that teacher during the summer program. Teachers' initial attributions for ADHD behaviors as less stable predicted teachers' greater satisfaction with the intervention techniques during the summer program and their greater attunement to children's social networks. Cognitions about the causes of children's ADHD behaviors held by preservice teachers may relate to their subsequent experiences with children in the context of implementing classroom behavioral management.