Fields Scott A, Hale Lisa R
Associate Professor, Director of Behavioral Science, Department of Family Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Charleston, WV, USA.
Ment Health Fam Med. 2011 Sep;8(3):157-65.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioural disorder of youth and is estimated to affect ∼4% of school-age children. Although medication is the most common and efficacious treatment for ADHD, some experts believe that multimodal treatment strategies help children improve symptoms more than medicine alone. Psychoeducational strategies focus on educating youth and families about a given disorder. This study compared youth who participated with their parents in a five-session, one-hour psychoeducational group at a family medicine clinic and those who received customary treatment and were on a waiting list for the intervention. Findings of youth behaviour from parent and teacher perspectives were compared at the outset of the group and one month after group completion using the Vanderbilt scales. Results revealed that youth in both conditions improved over the two months of the study from the parent perspective in terms of all ADHD symptoms (e.g. inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity) and in terms of school functioning. However, no gains were made in youth functioning or ADHD behaviour from the teacher perspective. Youth in the treatment group made modest gains in school performance from the parent perspective when compared with youth in the control condition. The results suggest that parents of ADHD youth should be involved in the treatment process to maximise the likelihood of improvement. Psychoeducational groups can be of modest benefit to help educate parents and youth regarding the challenges of ADHD management.
注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）是青少年中最常被诊断出的行为障碍，据估计约4%的学龄儿童受其影响。尽管药物治疗是ADHD最常见且有效的治疗方法，但一些专家认为多模式治疗策略比单纯药物治疗更有助于儿童改善症状。心理教育策略专注于向青少年及其家庭传授特定疾病的相关知识。本研究比较了在一家家庭医学诊所与父母一起参加为期五节、每节一小时的心理教育小组的青少年，以及接受常规治疗并在等待该干预措施的青少年。在小组开始时和小组结束后一个月，使用范德比尔特量表比较了从家长和教师角度观察到的青少年行为结果。结果显示，从家长角度来看，在研究的两个月中，两种情况下的青少年在所有ADHD症状（如注意力不集中、多动/冲动）以及学校功能方面均有改善。然而，从教师角度来看，青少年的功能或ADHD行为并无改善。与对照组的青少年相比，从家长角度来看，治疗组的青少年在学业成绩上有适度提高。结果表明，ADHD青少年的家长应参与治疗过程，以最大程度提高改善的可能性。心理教育小组在帮助家长和青少年了解ADHD管理挑战方面可能有一定益处。
