The Role of Parent Training Groups in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Article:Within the fields of child development and child clinical psychology, recognition is growing of the important role that families, in particular parents, play in the growth and development of children. Compared with a simplistic unidirectional view, researchers and clinicians increasingly have conceptualized parent-child influences from a more realistic transactional pattern 14,15,62 or a systems perspective. 45 For example, developmental researchers such as Baumrind, 12 Maccoby and Martin, 42 and Schaefer 63 have consistently found that healthy child development is most likely to occur in the context of high levels of parental warmth and acceptance, consistent behavioral control, and acceptance and encouragement of individuality and psychological autonomy. Consideration of parental influence is, however, important when development is disrupted in some way.The role of family factors and parental influences has become increasingly apparent not only in understanding normative or typical developmental concepts but also in treatment approaches for children with behavioral or emotional problems. In the 1960s and 1970s, the growth of family therapy approaches raised the issue of treating children within the context of the family and of interpreting the child's symptoms in the context of the role the symptoms serve in the family's functioning. 45 In addition, clinicians and researchers began to question the efficacy of traditional individual child psychotherapy 40,41 and became increasingly concerned with the issue of maintenance and generalization of treatment effects. 53 The successful implementation of behavioral approaches, which lend themselves to parent training models, also played a role in the growth of consideration of family variables. Finally, a large body of literature illustrates the link between family factors and the development of psychological problems in children (e.g., poor behavior management practices 28,51,52 ; parental psychopathologic abnormalities 61 ), Not only are positive parent practices related to healthy child development 12 but maladaptive parenting practices are thought to be associated with clinical problems such as noncompliance, oppositionality, and aggression. 28The role of the family also is apparent in the conceptualization and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is currently thought to be a developmental disorder of attention span, impulsivity, or overactivity as well as of rule-governed behavior, 7 with biologic factors (e.g., neurologic and genetic) accounting for the onset of the disorder in most children with ADHD.2 Some studies suggest that parents, in particular mothers, of children with ADHD may demonstrate less than effective parenting practices. For example, mothers of children with ADHD issue more commands and issue more negative staternents.10,65 These negative mother-child interactions are, however, reduced when the children respond positively to stimulant medication. 9,11,38 It appears that ADHD is not caused by poor parenting pe...

Parent mediated intervention programmes for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders in South Asia: A systematic review

“…It can also positively impact quality of life by increasing effective parenting skills and parent understanding of their child’s NDD, and reducing parent stress [ 33 , 54 , 55 ]. More specifically, a number of studies have demonstrated that parental stress can be reduced and the whole family environment can be improved by increasing parental skills to improve their child’s condition [ 45 , 56 , 57 ]. Parent-mediated programmes have been found to be cost effective in high income countries (HIC) and are recommended as a means of sustainable support for children with NDDs [ 56 – 63 ].…”

Parent training for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Parental and child outcome

“…(Arnold et al, 1997;Hinshaw, Klein, & Abikoff, 1998;Pelham, Wheeler, & Chronis, 1998). Some studies have shown that PT programs for ADHD children positively impact on improving some aspects of the children's behavior (Newby, Fisher, & Roman, 1991;Pisterman et al, 1989;Shelton & Barkley, 1992). Other studies have examined whether PT programs combined with other traditional treatment approaches yield more favorable results (Cousins & Weiss, 1993;Firestone, Kelly, Goodman, & Davey, 1981;Horn et al, 1991;Ialongo et al, 1993).…”