Evaluation of a School-Based Treatment Program for Young Adolescents with ADHD

• NCJ Number: 253623
• Journal: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Volume: 84 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2016 Pages: 15-30
• Author(s): Steven W. Evans; Joshua M. Langberg; Brandon K. Schultz; Aaron Vaughn; Mekibib Altaye; Stephen A. Marshall; Allison K. Zoromski
• Date Published: January 2016
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: CrimeSolutions Program ID #497 & 498

Annotation

This study compared the effectiveness of two school-based training interventions for adolescents with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and compared these programs with a community care (CC) condition.

Abstract

The two programs are the Challenging Horizons Program-after school version (CHP-AS) and Challenging Horizons Program-mentoring version (CHP-M). Participants were 326 students (sixth through eighth grade) diagnosed with ADHD. Interventions were conducted for one academic year. CHP-AS occurred twice weekly and included organization, social functioning, and academic study skills interventions. In CHP-M, students were paired with a mentor (e.g., teacher) who was trained by a consultant and delivered a subset of the CHP-AS interventions during school. No direct intervention was provided in CC. Participants were assessed at pretreatment, four occasions during the intervention year, posttreatment, and at a 6-month follow-up. Intent-to-treatment analyses using hierarchical linear modeling to compare outcomes between the three conditions indicated that participation in the CHP-AS intervention was associated with moderate effect-size improvements in parent-rated organization and time-management skills, homework problems, and ADHD symptoms of inattention, and with small improvements in overall academic functioning and grade point average (GPA). These improvements were in comparison to CC and to CHP-M. Gains were sustained into the next school year and even increased in magnitude for several of the measures. The evaluation of the CHP-AS program showed that it produced significant benefits for adolescents with ADHD compared with the services provided in the CHP-M and CC. The persistence of improvements over time supports the use of training interventions that teach skills for ADHD adolescents. (publisher abstract modified)