The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Parents Behavioral Training and Medication with Ritalin on the Rate of the Signs of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the present research is to determine the effectiveness of parents’ behavioral training in compare to medication on the rate of the signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Materials & Methods: Our population in this research was all boys in the elementary school (third, fourth and fifth grades) and finally a sample of 630 subjects were included. We used a questionnaire of children’s morbid signs (CSI-4) which was completed by parents. For determination of acceptable scores in this scale, all subjects who obtained score 6 and more were selected and out of these subjects by use of random method as many as 45 subjects were chosen and 15 subjects were considered as the behavioral experimental group (under special care of a psychiatrist) and the other 15 subjects were randomly put as the control group. The parents participated in seven sessions of behavioral training program, while for control group no kinds of training and medication intervention were carried out. Results: The results showed that both parent’s behavioral training program and medication have been effective meaningfully on ADHD (P=0.0005), also considering the averages differences, medication with Ritalin has caused more reduction of the signs of ADHD than parent’s behavioral training. Conclusion: At present, for children afflicted with ADHD, multi interventions are recommended that contains medication and parents training.

Keywords

• Hyperkinesis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Methylphenidate; Parents; Education; Pharmaceutical Preparations.