The Use of Stimulant Medication and Behavioral Interventions for the Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Survey of Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences

Abstract

We examined parents' knowledge, attitudes, and information sources regarding Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including treatment with stimulant medication and behavioral interventions. Responses from parents with a child diagnosed with ADHD and parents without a child diagnosed with ADHD were also compared. Participants consisted of 146 parents of elementary age children from Wisconsin. The surveyed parents were aware of issues surrounding ADHD and the use of stimulant medication, but there were several areas where they possessed inaccurate or incomplete factual information. Parents who had a child diagnosed with ADHD rated the effects of stimulant medication more positively and side effects as less severe than other parents. They also rated behavioral interventions as less effective on all questions. Implications of the study are discussed.Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurs in 3% to 7% of school aged children (American Psychiatric Association 2000). ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed childhood psychiatric disorder (Snider et al. 2003). A child diagnosed with ADHD may exhibit a variety of problem behaviors, such as inattentiveness, impulsiveness, forgetfulness, restlessness, and difficulty with organization. These behaviors can be frustrating for not only the child, but parents and teachers as well. ADHD is commonly treated with stimulant medication, behavioral interventions, or a combination of stimulant medication and behavioral intervention. In the past few

Willingness to use ADHD treatments: A mixed methods study of perceptions by adolescents, parents, health professionals and teachers

“…As hypothesized, we found that past experience with ADHD treatment increased parental medication willingness, consistent with previous studies (Stroh et al, 2008). However, against our expectation, adolescents’ previous ADHD treatment experience was not associated with notable differences in treatment willingness for any treatment modality.…”

“…Studies of parent ADHD treatment acceptability have consistently found higher ratings for behavioral than for medication interventions (Johnston et al, 2008; Krain et al, 2005). Parents of children with ADHD rate medication treatments as more effective than parents without personal experiences (Gage & Wilson, 2000; Stroh et al, 2008). According to Gage (2000), parents raising a child with ADHD were more likely to support a multimodal approach to treatment than parents without the personal experience.…”

Knowledge of and Attitude towards Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among Primary School Teachers in Jordan

“…Therefore, it is important to identify children with ADHD and implement special educational approaches to help them overcome any academic and psychological difficulties. As a result of their daily contact with children, teachers and other school personnel are in a central position to suggest further assessment for children of potential ADHD (Sax & Kautz, 2003;Snider, Busch, & Arrowood, 2003;Stroh, Frankenberger, Cornell-Swanson, Wood, & Pahl, 2008). Therefore, it is important that working teachers are adequately prepared to meet the needs of students with ADHD in their classrooms and contribute to the treatment plan.…”

A Discrete Choice Conjoint Experiment to Evaluate Parent Preferences for Treatment of Young, Medication Naive Children with ADHD

“…That is, some studies report that parents of children with ADHD provide positive evaluations of medication treatment (e.g., dosReis et al, 2003; Gage & Wilson, 2000), whereas other studies report that medication is not well accepted (Pescosolido, Perry, Martin, McLeod, & Jensen, 2007). Likewise, most studies report that parents rate behavioral treatments as acceptable (e.g., Johnston et al, 2008), but not all studies are consistent (Pemberton & Borrego, 2007; Stroh, Frankenberger, Cornell-Swanson, Wood, & Pahl, 2008). Our study suggests that these discrepancies may reflect heterogeneity among the parents in that, across parents, different attributes seem to be important in driving treatment decisions.…”