ADHD Symptoms do not Moderate Outcomes to Behavioral Parent Training Delivered in the Voluntary Sector

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the moderating role of baseline levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms on parent- and child-level outcomes following the Caring in Chaos behavioral parent training intervention at immediate post-intervention and follow-up assessment. One-hundred sixty-one children between the ages of 3–9 (Mean age = 7.6; 73% male) with parental concerns of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were randomly assigned to the Caring in Chaos behavioral parent training intervention, a task-shifted intervention delivered by a volunteer workforce across 12 community-based settings in Denmark, or to a wait-list control condition. Parent report of parenting behavior, sense of competence, stress, depressive symptoms as well as child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and child noncompliance were collected at baseline, immediate post-intervention and at follow-up assessment points. Analyses indicated no moderating effect of baseline attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms on parent- and child-outcomes, with no to large effects at post-treatment with maintenance of effects at follow-up assessment. The results of these analyses suggest that the Caring in Chaos behavioral parent training intervention can be utilized with young children with varying levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. These findings further support that community-based interventions delivered by nonprofessionals may serve as a beneficial option to increase availability and access to behavioral parent training for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.