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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Published on: March 12, 2020

Behavioral parent training as an adjunct to routine care in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder:

Barbara J van den Hoofdakker1, Maaike H Nauta, Lianne van der Veen-Mulders

  • 1University Center of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, P.O. Box 660, 9700 AR Groningen, The Netherlands. b.van.den.hoofdakker@accare.nl

Journal of Pediatric Psychology
|July 28, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Behavioral parent training (BPT) works best for children with ADHD and few comorbidities when mothers have high parenting self-efficacy. Adjunctive BPT is less effective for children with multiple comorbidities or when mothers report low self-efficacy.

Area of Science:

  • Child psychology
  • Behavioral therapy
  • Clinical psychology

Background:

  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.
  • Behavioral parent training (BPT) is a common intervention for children with ADHD.
  • The effectiveness of BPT can be influenced by various child and parent factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify predictors and moderators of treatment outcomes for BPT when used alongside routine clinical care (RCC).
  • To compare the efficacy of BPT plus RCC versus RCC alone in children with ADHD.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized controlled trial involving 94 children aged 4-12 years with ADHD.
  • Participants were assigned to either BPT plus RCC or RCC alone.
  • Outcomes were assessed using parent-reported behavioral problems and ADHD symptoms, with analyses of child IQ, age, comorbidity, and maternal factors (ADHD, depression, parenting self-efficacy).

Main Results:

  • BPT demonstrated superior effects on behavioral problems and ADHD symptoms in children with no or single-type comorbidities (anxiety/depression or ODD/CD).
  • Treatment gains were more pronounced when mothers reported high parenting self-efficacy.
  • These benefits were diminished in children with broad comorbidities (anxiety/depression and ODD/CD) and when mothers reported low parenting self-efficacy.
  • Older children showed a greater decrease in ADHD symptoms with BPT compared to younger children.

Conclusions:

  • Behavioral parent training (BPT) as an adjunct to routine clinical care (RCC) is most beneficial for children with ADHD who have limited comorbidities.
  • Maternal parenting self-efficacy is a key moderator, with higher self-efficacy associated with better treatment outcomes.
  • These findings highlight the importance of considering child comorbidity profiles and maternal factors when implementing BPT for ADHD.
Abstract

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