Behavioral treatments for ADHD: For which children do they work?

Washington, DC, February 8, 2022 – A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), published by Elsevier, reports that certain children with ADHD should be given priority when it comes to behavioral treatment.  

“Behavioral treatments are found to reduce symptoms of ADHD, tackle behavioral problems, and reduce functional impairment in children with ADHD. However, these treatments may not be equally effective for all children with ADHD, said first author Annabeth Groenman, PhD, Assistant Professor at Accare, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, and Research Institute Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam.  

“It is important to understand what children (or families) respond better or worse to behavioral treatments to identify target groups for intervention more accurately. To better determine which children can benefit more from behavioral treatments, we needed a large database with a high number of participants.”  

The findings are based on a database developed under the Psychosocial ADHD INTerventions (PAINT) collaboration, containing a team of 33 researchers from around the world, who shared data of their individual trials studying the effectiveness of behavioral treatment to be used in an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA).  

Dr. Groenman and colleagues then reviewed the effects of behavioral treatment on more than 2,200 children with ADHD below the age of 18 included in 21 randomized controlled trials. They analyzed the effect on the children’s symptoms of ADHD, behavioral problems, and global impairment children experience in their daily lives.  

The research showed that behavioral treatment for children with ADHD can help reduce attention problems, hyperactivity, impulsiveness and behavioral problems; treatment also reduces how children experience functional impairment due to their behavior. In addition, the researchers identified subgroups that respond differently to behavioral interventions. Children with conduct disorder symptoms accompanying their ADHD clearly deteriorate without treatment. This is also true for children with more severe ADHD and children from single-parent families. 

“These findings emphasize the importance of direct access to behavioral treatment for children with ADHD who have more severe ADHD or conduct disorder symptoms, as it prevents deterioration of their problems,” said Barbara van der Hoofdakker, PhD, University of Groningen, on behalf of the PAINT consortium research team. PAINT would like to see that efforts are made to make behavioral interventions easily and quickly accessible to all. 

The most important conclusion of this study is that certain subgroups of children with ADHD should be treated promptly with behavioral interventions to prevent them from deteriorating.  

--- 

Notes for editors 
The article is "An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis: Behavioral Treatments for Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,” by Annabeth P. Groenman, PhD, et al. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.02.024). It currently appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, volume 61, issue 2 (February 2022), published by Elsevier. 

Copies of this paper are available to credentialed journalists upon request; please contact the JAACAP Editorial Office at support@jaacap.org or +1 202 587 9674. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Annabeth P. Groenman, PhD at a.groenman@gmail.com.  

About JAACAP 
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the official publication of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. JAACAP is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families. 

The Journal's purpose is to advance research, clinical practice, and theory in child and adolescent psychiatry. It is interested in manuscripts from diverse viewpoints, including genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, social, cultural, and economic. Studies of diagnostic reliability and validity, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment efficacy, and mental health services effectiveness are encouraged. The Journal also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families. 

About Elsevier 
As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems.  

In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions and funders.  

Elsevier employs 8,100 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our 2,500+ digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our 40,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world. 

Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com  

Media contact 
JAACAP Editorial Office 
+1 202 587 9674 
support@jaacap.org