The Effectiveness of a Parent Involvement-Child Behavioral Management Program on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms among Thai School-age Children

Abstract

Objective: This study examined effect of a new Parent Involvement-Child Behavioral Management Program (PICBMP) on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity) among school-age children with ADHD in a regional psychiatric hospital in Thailand.Material and Methods: In this pretest-posttest control group study, 60 children between 6 and 12 years of age diagnosed with ADHD and their parents were equally and randomly assigned to either the PICBMP or usual care group. The individuals assigned to the PICBMP group attended an 8-week of behavior management program for parents of ADHD children, which was in addition to a usual care program, while usual care was provided to individuals only provided to the control group. The Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham-IV tool was used to evaluate the ADHD symptoms in all children before and after the PICBMP intervention. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used for data analysis (p-value<0.050).Results: Most of the children were male -75.0%, and -88.4% of the parents in the study were female. The average age of the children was 8.9 years (S.D.=1.67), and that of the parents was 40 years (S.D.=6.17). Significantly lower ADHD symptoms were found in the children who received the PICBMP compared to the children who received the usual care at pretest and posttest (t=-5.065, p-value<0.050). The ADHD symptoms in the children in the intervention experimental group significantly decreased after their parents attended the PICBMP (t=14.986, p-value<0.050).Conclusion: The findings of this study support the effectiveness of the PICBMP in reducing ADHD symptoms.