Effectiveness of parent-child relationship-oriented group interventions on symptoms reduction among 6-11 years old children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to investigate the effectiveness of parent-child relationship-oriented group interventions on symptoms reduction in 6-11 years old children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In a quasi-experimental study using pre-test and post-test design with three experimental groups of 1. drug therapy, 2. combined (drug therapy and family-oriented intervention) and 3. family-oriented intervention, mothers of 30 children with ADHD disorder were randomly selected from the educational districts, schools and students of Tehran using multi-stage cluster sampling method, and were placed in three groups. The combined and family-oriented groups were trained in a parent-child relationship group for 10 sessions and the drug therapy group received only medication. Subjects were assessed by Canners’ Parenting Scale in two stages (before intervention and after intervention). Data were analyzed using covariance analysis. The results of the present study showed that the implementation of a parent-child-based educational program resulted in a significant reduction in symptoms of ADHD among children in both the combined and family-oriented group. Parent-child relationship education is effective in symptoms reduction among children with ADHD. Therefore, it is suggested that therapists use this method to help children of this particular group.